Spaceman | 2024 | R | – 2.4.5

Why is “Spaceman” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes discussions of pregnancy and a miscarriage, several scenes of a man alone in space interacting with a large spider that speaks to him, a few disturbing scenes from flashbacks to a house fire and a near drowning, discussions of marriages ending, several arguments, and about 8 F-words. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A Czech cosmonaut (Adam Sandler) leaves his pregnant wife (Carry Mulligan) for a year-long space voyage toward a mysterious purple cloud that has appeared over Earth. His adventure is not at all what he expects. Also with Kanul Nayyar, Isabella Roselini, Lena Olin and the voice of Paul Dano. Directed by Johan Renck. [Running Time: 1:47]

Spaceman SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A couple meets for the first time and kiss for several seconds.
► A woman at a swimming pool removes her sweater and slacks below the frame and jumps in the water as we see her bra and underwear from the back. A man is shirtless briefly in three scenes (his bare chest, abdomen, shoulders and back are seen). A man sits on a toilet with his shirt covering his torso and lap and his pants down around his ankles. A man is shirtless (bare chest, abdomen, shoulders and back are seen) and wearing a gas mask as he tries to flush a toilet. A pregnant woman in a swimming pool wears a one-piece swimsuit.
► We hear that a woman had a miscarriage in her first pregnancy and a flashback shows blood on her thighs as she walks on a treadmill and cries loudly.

Spaceman VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A man flies alone inside a large spacecraft in many dimly lit scenes; he looks grimy and haggard, and objects float through the air.
► A man dreams about a spider crawling inside his facial skin and popping out of his mouth and he wakes up with a gasp. A man meets a man-sized furry brown spider in his spacecraft and he gasps and locks himself inside an airlock where he dons a spacesuit and sprays the interior of the ship with decontaminate; when he exits the airlock, he finds the spider unharmed but sneezing, and the man closes himself in a sleep pod that the spider opens to visit the man and he gasps. A dream sequence shows a man as a boy, sifting through his father’s ashes; a small version of the spider pops up and tells him to rest.
► A large spider tells a cosmonaut that he can help him; the spider accesses the man’s memories and we see several scenes that include distorted and swirling edges where a woman runs through a field of goldenrod, a man and a woman sit in the field, a woman briefly cries, a couple argues briefly, a couple walks down a hall to a swimming pool, we see a large house in flames, and a teen boy struggles underwater until a man pulls him to safety; a gruesome memory shows a man as he chases a pig through a spaceship, across a farmyard, and then into a shed, where he kills it off-screen; we see blood dripping into an enlarging pool on a wooden floor, and the scene cuts to a young man shuddering and gasping. We hear that a woman had a miscarriage in her first pregnancy and a flashback shows blood on her thighs as she walks on a treadmill and cries loudly.
► A man-sized spider and a man become friends, but after accessing the man’s many thoughts, the spider tells him he has self-inflicted loneliness because he is selfish and self-centered and the spider leaves the ship with the man pleading for him to return. A spider gasps, wheezes, and explains that he is dying from an infection given to his people by invaders, and that he is the last survivor; the spider and a man embrace for several seconds. A spacecraft approaches a cloud called the Chopra Cloud and we see small bright particles floating; both a man and a spider onboard admit to some fear. A man tries to catch a particle in a large cloud but is unable to and he deploys a device like a solar sail that catches particles. Lights flash in a spacecraft and Mission Control shouts that they are receiving complete system failure warnings as a low-toned alarm sounds several times; the cosmonaut argues and leaves the ship to go after a spider; the spider takes his hand and leads him through a swirling cloud as we hear the many thoughts throughout the life of the man overlapping around him as the spider wheezes and weakens, eventually disintegrating into brown particles.
► We hear that the fathers of a man and a woman are both dead. A flashback shows a house in flames as a man looks on, cries, and grasps his head; we hear that his house was burned down because he was a communist informant. We hear that a teen boy was thrown into a body of water because his father was a communist informant, but the boy was rescued. A spider asks a man not to touch him, but the man wants to stoke its fur; the spider charges the man and pins him against a wall and the man gasps and pants, agreeing not to touch him again. A woman says she feels as though parts of her have been amputated each time her husband thinks only of himself; later she says she feels she is evaporating.
► A pregnant woman sends a voice message to her cosmonaut husband that she is leaving him and drives away from their home; a government official has the communication link disabled so the message cannot be delivered and argues with the woman. A husband apologizes to his wife over the phone for taking her for granted and leaving while she is pregnant; the man and the woman both sob.

Spaceman LANGUAGE 5

 – About 8 F-words and its derivatives, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (Spaceman, skinny human). | profanity glossary |

Spaceman SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man in a spacecraft pulls out a bottle of what is called “sleep drops” and catches bubbles of the substance in his mouth, and a bottle of medication floats unused. A man holds a bottle of vodka as many bubbles float out of it (he does not drink any bubbles). A woman smokes a cigarette in a flashback.

Spaceman DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Concepts of time, memories, emotions, ambition, selfishness, impact of miscarriage, commitment, considering others, diversity, first contact, friendship, acceptance, loneliness, isolation, reconciliation, commercialism of space exploration.

Spaceman MESSAGE

 – Hope and fear can coexist and relationships can be healed.

(Editor’s Note: A yearlong space voyage is sponsored by many retail companies; the cosmonaut must reluctantly recite company jingles throughout his voyage.)