'TRAFFIC' NOT FOR KIDS

'Traffic'

(R)

Best for: Adults

What it's about: When two DEA agents (Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman)
conduct a bust against the infamous Obregon drug cartel, the drug
trafficker (Miguel Ferrer), the arrest leads them to wealthy American
drug baron Ayala (Steven Bauer). When Ayala is arrested, his naive
pregnant wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) learns the business, takes over
and makes a deal with the drug cartel to get her husband out of jail.
Meanwhile, Benicio Del Toro is a border cop who gets the attention of
Gen. Salazar, a leader of the army's anti-smuggling efforts. Back in
the U.S., Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) is a judge who's
appointed anti-drug czar in hopes of stemming drug traffic to the U.S.
As he prepares to supervise the country's task force, he discovers his
daughter (Erika Christensen) is hooked on cocaine and wages war
against the dealer who has her hooked. Dennis Quaid, Amy Irving co-stars.

The good: This is a realistic, gritty look at the seedy drug world in
Mexico and the U.S. We see political and criminal corruption but also
a wealthy white girl sell her soul and body for cocaine, and a naive
pregnant mother fight to protect her family and husband. It's an
interesting journey that reinforces the craziness of a convoluted war
against an enemy that's much bigger than just the drugs themselves.
Though the movie is well-made, well-written and has an excellent cast,
its message will not appeal to everyone.

The not-so-good: The unusual way this movie was made is not going to
appeal to everyone. Issues of teen drug use, sex and prostitution are
dealt with. There's a suicide, a torture scene and, of course,
parental issues. It's brilliant in the way it was executed but it's
still hard to connect emotionally, since the pace rarely lets you
settle in long enough with any one character to care.

Offensive language: Lots of it, including mild obscenities and
religious profanities in subtitles.

Sexual situations: A couple of scenes show a college-age woman drugged
up and in bed with the focus more on her drugged condition than the
sex she's having. Full rear male nudity on a man walking to the door.
Some sexual innuendoes and explicit sexual dialogue.

Violence: Several men are shot (one execution-style), another is blown up.
A man is beaten and tortured. A man is poisoned, and another passes out
from overdosing on drugs; we see some convulsing. Several scenes of teens
freebasing cocaine

Parental advisory: This is an interesting expose on the drug world
that has the feel of three movies in one. Its bold style and blatant
message is strictly for mature audiences who can handle the harsh
realism of what the drug world is really about and the politics,
drugs, corruption and sex that demean those involved in it.