The Dilemma parents guide

The Dilemma Parent Guide

Though the production presents plenty of worthwhile questions about coming clean, the answers don't come as easily from this cast of well-known comedians.

Overall C

What would you do if you knew the wife (Winona Ryder) of your best friend (Kevin James) was having an affair? In this comedy, to tell or not to tell is the dilemma facing Ronny Valentine (Vince Vaughn).

Release date January 14, 2011

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

Why is The Dilemma rated PG-13? The MPAA rated The Dilemma PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving sexual content

Run Time: 110 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Director Ron Howard and actor Vince Vaughn appear to be an odd pairing. The first is known for his dramatic films like A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man and Frost/Nixon. Vince Vaughn plays anything-but-serious roles in Couples Retreat, Zoolander and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. For the Oscar award winning Howard, The Dilemma seems like the big deviation from his established path.

The film may have been a step up from the screwball comedy I expected but then I wasn’t anticipating much. And it was just a baby step better than I predicted.

In the story, Ronny Valentine (Vince Vaughn) is in a predicament. While scouting out the perfect location to propose to his girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly), he stumbles upon the wife of his best friend in a lip lock with another man. When he finally confronts Geneva (Winona Ryder) about her infidelity with the tattoo-covered Zip (Channing Tatum), she cautions him about judging what happens behind closed doors with her and her husband Nick (Kevin James).

Adding to the dilemma, Ronny and Nick are right in the middle of preparing for a huge presentation on a new engine component to the Chrysler auto company. Huddled over a car motor, Nick is absorbed in his work and doesn’t have time when Ronny comes into the workshop for a personal discussion. In the meantime, Geneva begs her accuser to let things be until after the project is finished.

Talked into keeping the secret a little longer, Ronny still wants to make sure he has the evidence he needs. Buying a camera, he climbs onto Zip’s balcony where he takes pictures of Geneva and her lover in various stages of undress and embrace. After discovering the Peeping Tom, Zip, who is high on drugs, attacks Ronny and his classic muscle car with a baseball bat. Later he threatens the cameraman with a gun.

Ronny, however, hardly has a pristine past when it comes to truthfulness, so making him the Honesty Cop seems like a big stretch. When the former gambling addict becomes increasingly evasive around his girlfriend and Nick, the two begin to worry the reforming bettor has relapsed. And once assumptions are made, it is easy to find proof to support them.

Though the production presents plenty of worthwhile questions about coming clean, the answers don’t come as easily from this cast of well-known comedians. Their characters frequently engage in juvenile fistfights, stealth surveillance tactics and sexually verbal dialogue. The lack of justification for many of their actions and a double standard for men and women also make it hard to feel sympathy for the choices they make. Even their good intentions are debatable when a friendly intervention proves to be much more revealing than anyone anticipated.

Unfortunately what could have been an entertaining script ends up fumbling on several fronts. Everyone in the story has a different opinion on honesty and whether or not it is the best policy. But for many potential viewers, the frequent profanities, female buttock nudity and some crude sexual content will cause another dilemma—to go or not to go.

Directed by Ron Howard . Starring Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder. Running time: 110 minutes. Theatrical release January 14, 2011. Updated

The Dilemma
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Dilemma rated PG-13? The Dilemma is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for mature thematic elements involving sexual content

Violence: Characters engage in fistfights on several occasions, often resulting in bloody noses or facial injuries. A man attacks another man and his car with a baseball bat.

Sexual Content: An unmarried couple undresses during a sexual encounter. Female buttock nudity is shown. Couples kiss on several occasions.

Language: An extreme sexual expletive, crude hand gestures, scatological slang, profanities and terms of Deity are used in this script as well as crude sexual terms and sexual dialogue.

Alcohol / Drug Use: A man admits to being high on Oxycontin. Characters drink at home and in social settings on numerous occasions.

Other: Characters withhold the truth and lie to others. A man deals with a gambling addiction. Characters are unfaithful in their relationships.

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The Dilemma Parents' Guide

Does Ronny have a responsibility to tell Nick what is happening? Are there situations where a person has no business in becoming involved? Under similar circumstances, would you tell you’re friend? How would you do it? Is it fair for Ronny to play the role of honesty cop considering his own past and present actions?

What effect do you think Internet surfing and gaming has on productivity at work? Does it provide a mental break for employees or can it be an excessive waste of time?

This script has a double standard when it comes to female and male infidelity. Would the story be stronger if both genders were found equally guilty? Is there justification given for the marriage problems? What do you think Geneva finds attractive about Zip?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of The Dilemma movie is May 3, 2011. Here are some details…

The Dilemma releases to DVD and Blu-ray with the following bonus materials:

- This Is The Dilemma (Brian Grazer and Ron Howard share the story of how The Dilemma was conceived in a restaurant in Rome. Go behind the scenes with cast and crew members as they give an inside look at the making of the film both on and off set.)

- Seven deleted scenes

- Alternate ending

- Gag reel

The Dilemma on Blu-ray also includes these extras:

- Tour Chicago: Take an inside look at some of the fantastic places in Chicago that were featured in the film. Hosted by Vince Vaughn, visit the United Center, The Green Mill, Botanical Gardens and the famous architectural boat tour.

- On Ice: Join Vince Vaughn, Kevin James and Ron Howard on the ice at Chicago’s United Center the year the Blackhawk’s won the Stanley Cup and watch Ron Howard get an ice hockey lesson from Blackhawk’s star Dave Bolland.

- Seven more deleted scenes

- BD-Live

- pocket BLU

- My Movies: Consumers can instantly stream a free bonus movie of their choice or choose to rent a variety of Universal favorites including Meet the Parents, Fast and Furious, Mamma Mia! and Coraline.

- My scenes

- uHEAR

Related home video titles:

In the classic musical Camelot, a woman falls in love with her husband’s best and most trusted friend. In Dan in Real Life a man struggles with his feelings when he learns that the woman he has just met and taken an interest in is his brother’s girlfriend. And a woman becomes suspicious of the nature of her spouse’s business trips in The Incredibles.

Ronny frequently repeats Coach Herb Brooks’ famous quote from the hockey movie Miracle; “Great moments… are born from great opportunity.”