Long Shot: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for strong sexual content, language throughout and some drug use.
A raunchy political rom-com for older teens and adults. A scruffy journalist becomes a speechwriter for the secretary of state, his former babysitter, and the two fall for each other during her run for president. It is good-natured and funny, but the sexual humor is very crude, including a leaked webcam video of him masturbating, plus two sex scenes, about 130 f-words by one count, and the leads taking ecstasy at a party. An early scene with neo-Nazis includes antisemitic slurs. We suggest 16 and up.
What's in it
Violence
MildMostly physical comedy: Fred leaps from a second-story window onto a car and tumbles down concrete stairs, and a man is hit with a coffee mug. A building is bombed and people help the injured, without gore.
Language
StrongPervasive: one count found nearly 130 f-words and more than 50 s-words, plus 'bitch,' 'dick' and plenty of crude sexual terms. White supremacists repeatedly use an antisemitic slur.
Sex and nudity
StrongVery crude: a hacked webcam video shows Fred masturbating, ending in a gag about semen on his face. Two sex scenes cut away before nudity, one with a request to be choked, and a flashback shows a young teen's visible erection.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongThe leads take ecstasy at a club, and she handles an international crisis while still high, played as a win. Fred carries pot, pills and a vape, characters smoke weed and get drunk, and acid is mentioned.
Scary or intense scenes
MildMild. Fred is cornered by a neo-Nazi group before escaping through a window, and a bombing and a hostage standoff bring brief tension, but the tone stays comic.
Sensitive topics
- Racism
Worth talking about
The movie treats Charlotte getting high during a crisis as a triumph: how realistic is that, and how do comedies make risky choices look free of consequences?
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, the MPA, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.