Why is The People We Hate at the Wedding Rated R? We explore the rating given to the Prime Video film.
The Prime Video film The People We Hate at the Wedding made its streaming debut Friday. A comedy with an all-star cast that includes Kristen Bell, Ben Platt, and Allison Janney was highly anticipated based on the book‘s success and the critical praise, even from the famous author of Crazy Rich Asians. The film is currently rated number one on the Prime Video streaming rankings.
However, let’s analyze what the critics are saying and why the film is rated R.
What is The People We Hate at the Wedding about?
Here is the official plot synopsis:
“The film follows struggling American siblings Alice (Kristen Bell) and Paul (Ben Platt), who reluctantly agree to attend the wedding of their estranged, wealthy half-sister (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in the English countryside alongside their mother, Donna (Allison Janney). Over the course of the wedding week, the family’s many skeletons are wrenched from the closet, and the unlikely reunion gives everyone the motivation to move their own lives forward. A modern wedding comedy for anyone with a slightly dysfunctional family (everyone), or anyone who’s been forced to attend a wedding they tried to avoid (also everyone).”
What have critics said about The People We Hate at the Wedding?
Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film classified “rotten status” with only a 23% approval rate and 30 reviews. The critic consensus says the film is “An intriguingly cast but largely laugh-free comedy, The People We Hate at the Wedding will leave most viewers saying “I don’t.”
Ready Steady Cut said The People We Hate at the Wedding “Simply does not have the same bite and an oddly hopeful quality the source material possessed.” Variety thought it was a bit blunter. “Sporting a game cast and efficient sitcommy pacing, it looks and sounds the part just enough to keep you diverted — until you notice, as the credits roll to upbeat electropop, that you haven’t laughed once.”
Is The People We Hate at the Wedding based on a book?
The People We Hate at the Wedding is based on a 2016 novel by Grant Ginder of the same name. New York Times best-selling author Kevin Kwan said of the novel, “It’s for the same audience that flocked to The Nest, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? or dare I say a little book you might be a fan of, Crazy Rich Asians.”
Why is The People We Hate at the Wedding Rated R?
According to FilmRatings.Com, a movie is rated R when ‘An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously.”
Common Sense Media, a website dedicated to critiquing the standards and practices of the Motion Pictures Association of America(MPAA), says The People We Hate at the Wedding is rated R because “Parents need to know that The People We Hate at the Wedding is an often raunchy comedy based on the book by Grant Ginder. Characters drink too much, are mean to others, have affairs, keep secrets, and generally get into trouble.”
Finally, per the MPAA rating at the beginning of the film, The People We Hate at the Wedding Rated R for violence, substance use, alcohol use, foul language, and sexual content.
