Quartet parents guide

Quartet Parent Guide

Overall A-

Where do aging opera stars go when they no longer have a spotlight on the stage? It turns out there is a retirement home just for such folks. While life is usually very harmonious there, the arrival of a disgruntled diva (Maggie Smith) causes immediate discord.

Release date January 10, 2013

Violence B
Sexual Content B-
Profanity D+
Substance Use C+

Why is Quartet rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Quartet PG-13 for brief strong language and suggestive humor.

Run Time: 93 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

“Growing older isn’t for sissies,” as Cissy (Pauline Collins) often says. The former singer lives in Beecham Home for the musically inclined along with other retired performers. Among them is Wilf (Billy Connolly), an opera singer who still talks like a hormone-driven adolescent. His boyish antics are tolerated, though not encouraged, by the staff and other residents. Reginald (Tom Courtenay) is the third member of Wilf and Cissy’s old quartet. In comparison to Wilf, he is a refined man who gives music lectures to visiting high school students.

One day, a scurry of activity announces the arrival of a new resident—Jean Horton (Maggie Smith). For Reginald (Reggie), Wilf and Cissy, Jean’s arrival means their old singing group is complete just in time for the home’s annual fundraising event. And the event’s organizer Cedric (Michael Gambon) hopes to have the quartet reunite for the concluding performance of the show. However, Jean has long since stopped performing, afraid of faltering in front of her fans. Reggie also hesitates to warmly embrace the reunion for reasons that take time to unfold.

But while their faces are wrinkled and their voices tremble on occasion, life isn’t over for these retirees. And moving beyond the applause and adulation they experienced in their prime becomes a challenge for each of them as they search for a new tune to sing.

The acting ensemble of Connolly, Collins, Courtenay and Smith, along with characters played by real life opera singer Dame Gwyneth Jones, stage star Trevor Peacock and performer Andrew Sachs, brings a wealth of experience and feeling to this story. Each of the characters views the golden years of their lives with varying degrees of aplomb and distress. Many have sacrificed family and marriage for the sake of career and now face a future of loneliness. Some are losing their minds. Some are losing their physical abilities. Some fear the faces they see in the mirror. And Director Dustin Hoffman, a age 75, deftly captures these conflicts in his first directorial role since his un-credited debut in the 1978 film Straight Time.

Although unlikely to appeal to teens and children, parents should note the film contains three strong sexual expletives along with a smattering of milder profanities. Wilf also contributes plenty of sexual-driven comments, and implied sexual activity involves two young unmarried employees of the retirement home.

However, for those audience members approaching or well into their golden years, Quartet reminds viewers that while life may become more difficult, it doesn’t have to end until the final curtain drops.

Directed by Dustin Hoffman. Starring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins. Running time: 93 minutes. Theatrical release January 10, 2013. Updated

Quartet
Rating & Content Info

Why is Quartet rated PG-13? Quartet is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for brief strong language and suggestive humor.

Violence: A man threatens to ram another with a fork. A character yells at a woman and throws an object at her. A woman falls and is injured.

Sexual Content: A man frequently makes sexually charged comments, grabs at his crotch and makes references to bodily functions. Characters discuss past infidelities. Sexual activity is implied between unmarried young adult characters. A character is shown in the bathtub.

Language: The script contains three strong sexual expletives, some sexual dialogue and references to male and female anatomy, crude slang terms, mild profanities and terms of Deity.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters smoke infrequently. A man pays to have liquor smuggled into the residence for him. Characters share a drink to deal with a stressful situation. Characters appear to be slightly drunk at one point.

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Quartet Parents' Guide

How difficult is it to face an inevitable decline after peaking in one’s profession, physical prowess or other aspect of life? Which of these characters deals with the decline most gracefully? How does a willingness to learn new things help some of them deal with old age more successfully?

This cast of actors brings a wealth of acting experience to the screen. How is that experience evident in their performances?

How do the choices of our youth come back to haunt or bless us in old age? What sacrifices do many of these characters make for their art? What choices would you change in your life? Is there a way to amend some of those choices?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Quartet movie is June 18, 2013. Here are some details…

Quartet releases to home video on June 18, 2013.

Related home video titles:

Another group of performers, averaging over age 80, find joy in performing popular music in the documentary Young @ Heart.

Maggie Smith stars as another elderly woman looking for a place to retire in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Bill Connolly appears in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and lends his voice to Brave. Michael Gambon plays Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter Franchise. Tom Courtenay can be seen in Nicholas Nickleby. And Dustin Hoffman’s acting credits include Last Chance Harvey, the tale of an aging man still looking for love.

This movie should not be confused with another film also releasing in winter 2012, A Late Quartet.

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