Is MacGruber okay for a 13- or 14-year-old?

No. The movie earns every bit of its R rating with pervasive foul language, crude sexual humor, full rear nudity, and absurdly graphic gore like throat-ripping.

How does MacGruber compare to the original SNL sketches?

The SNL sketches were brief, TV-14 bits built around MacGruber blowing up in a control room. The movie takes that character and drops him into an unrestrained, R-rated 80s action parody full of profanity and crude gags.

Is there graphic violence in MacGruber?

Yes, but it is played for dark comedy. Expect gratuitous explosions, characters getting shot, and graphic gag violence like MacGruber physically ripping out enemies' throats.

Does MacGruber have nudity or explicit sex scenes?

Yes. There are prolonged, absurd lovemaking scenes featuring heavy sex noises, rear nudity, and crude sexual props used as distraction tactics.

MacGruber – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

MacGruber

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2010

18%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Will Forte turns an SNL MacGyver spoof into 90 minutes of throat-ripping, celery-assisted, pure hard-R comedy nonsense.

5.6/10

47%

36%

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MacGruber

movie

R, 2010

18%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Will Forte turns an SNL MacGyver spoof into 90 minutes of throat-ripping, celery-assisted, pure hard-R comedy nonsense.

5.6

47%

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5.6/10

47%

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Screenwise Verdict

If you are looking for anything family-friendly, turn around immediately. MacGruber takes a two-minute Saturday Night Live sketch and blows it up into an uncompromising, hard-R action spoof. It is filthy, violent, and relentless in its commitment to shock comedy.

For adults who appreciate Will Forte's specific strain of unhinged humor, it has achieved legitimate cult comedy status over time. But as far as kid or family viewing goes, there is zero overlap here—this belongs strictly on the late-night adult watchlist.

Age Fit

Strictly for adults and late teens (17+). This is an unrestrained hard-R comedy built on shock value, vulgarity, and absurd violence.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Packed with extreme profanity, raunchy sexual humor, and absurdly graphic violence. Zero attempt at wholesome framing.

Imaginative

A clever parody of 80s action tropes and MacGyver style problem-solving, though executed entirely for crude jokes.

Safe

Hard R-rating featuring graphic gore, throat rips, full nudity, non-stop swearing, and explicit sexual gags.

Enriching

Offers brief flashes of satire on action-movie hero tropes, but serves almost exclusively as absurd adult shock comedy.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Committed absurdism from Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, who treat a paper-thin sketch premise like a high-stakes blockbuster.
Sharp parody of 80s action tropes, spoofing everything from dramatic montage sequences to vengeful hero archetypes.
Cult comedy status among fans who love unrestrained, off-beat humor that refuses to take itself seriously.

⚠

What to Watch For

Graphic comedic gore, including repeated throat-ripping bits, explosions, and hyper-violent revenge scenes.
Explicit sexual gags, including loud, prolonged lovemaking scenes, rear nudity, and crude prop humor involving celery.
Non-stop hard profanity across the entire runtime, alongside petty, unheroic behavior framed as character comedy.

Conversation Starters

"What action hero cliches or 80s tropes is the movie picking apart?"
"Why do you think some short comedy sketches struggle when stretched into full-length movies?"
"Where is the line between clever movie satire and basic shock humor?"

Deep Dive

An SNL Sketch Stretched to Hard-R Parody

When MacGruber landed in theaters in 2010, critics mostly bounced off its relentless vulgarity. The film takes the standard MacGyver parody template—a hero who supposedly improvises rescue gear out of household items—and strips away any lingering TV-PG limits. What remains is a bizarre, violent, and surprisingly dedicated send-up of 80s action blockbusters like Rambo and Cobra.

Why It Is Strictly for Adults

Unlike mild action-comedies that cross into PG-13 territory with bleeped words or off-camera punches, MacGruber leans heavily into its R rating:

Violence as punchline: Characters explode in fiery mishaps, and the hero's signature move involves physically tearing out throat tissue.
Unfiltered sexual crude humor: The film features loud, ridiculous sex scenes and bizarre gag sequences designed purely for shock value.
Petty heroics: MacGruber is cowardice personified—offering up his teammates as human shields and whining through crisis situations.

If your teenager is asking about this because of clips floating around social media, know that the whole movie matches that exact tone for 90 minutes straight. It is a genuine cult film for comedy fans, but not a title to compromise on for family night.