It examines the term from perspectives which include art, linguistics, society and comedy, and begins with a segment from the 1965 propaganda film Perversion for Profit.

Journalist Sam Donaldson talks about the versatility of the word, and comedian Billy Connolly states it can be understood despite one's language or location.

Scholars, including linguist Reinhold Aman, journalism analyst David Shaw and Oxford English Dictionary editor Jesse Sheidlower, explain the history and evolution of the word.

The Washington Post and the New York Daily News criticized its length and other reviewers disliked its repetitiveness – the word "fuck" is used 857 times in the film.

In his 2009 book Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties, law professor Christopher M. Fairman called the movie "the most important film using 'fuck'".

Fuck begins with a segment from the 1965 propaganda film Perversion for Profit,[1][2] followed by a clip from SpongeBob SquarePants (specifically, from the episode "Sailor Mouth") which states that the word can be used as a "sentence enhancer".

[1] The documentary includes commentary from film and television writers Kevin Smith and Steven Bochco; comedians Janeane Garofalo, Bill Maher, Drew Carey and Billy Connolly; musicians Chuck D, Alanis Morissette and Ice-T; political commentators Alan Keyes and Pat Boone; and journalists and Judith Martin.

[6][7] Scholarly analysis is provided by Maledicta publisher Reinhold Aman, journalism analyst David Shaw[2][9] and Oxford English Dictionary editor Jesse Sheidlower.

Fuck later includes archival footage of comedians Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, and analysis of the word's use in popular culture, from MASH (1970) to Scarface (1983) and Clerks (1994).

"[14] Bill Maher comments, "It's the ultimate bad word",[1] observing that thanks to Lenny Bruce, comedy clubs have become "the freest free-speech zone" in the United States.

[16][17] Radio talk show host Dennis Prager says that it is acceptable for youths to hear the word on television and film, but not from their family members.

[19][a] Fuck observes that the original use of the word is unknown to scholars,[21] noting that its earliest written appearance was in the 1475 poem "Flen flyys".

[15][26] The film explains that "fuck" established its current usage during the First and Second World Wars,[27] and was used by General George S. Patton in a speech to his forces who were about to enter France.

[2] Anderson made his directorial debut in 2003 with the film The Big Empty, starring actors Daryl Hannah and Jon Favreau,[34][35] and became fascinated by the usage of the word "fuck".

[15] Anderson explained to the Los Angeles Times the confusing, forbidden nature of the word "fuck" in the face of the increased pervasiveness of euphemisms for it.

[7] The director told CanWest News Service that he hoped the documentary would provoke a wider discussion about freedom of speech, sexual slang and its media use.

[10][11] Jory Weitz helped obtain interviews; he had cast Anderson's previous film, The Big Empty, and had industry credibility as executive producer of Napoleon Dynamite.

[7] According to a 2011 interview with Anderson in the Santa Barbara Independent, the documentary was shown in about 100 film festivals worldwide and was screened in about 65 cities during its theatrical release.

[69] The American Film Institute wrote, "Ultimately, Fuck is a movie about free speech ... Freedom of expression must extend to words that offend.

[5] In The Boston Globe Wesley Morris commented that the director's flippant style was beneficial, enabling him to make serious educational points to the audience.

[33] A. O. Scott wrote in The New York Times: "Mr. Anderson's movie is staged as a talking-head culture-war skirmish between embattled upholders of propriety (or repression, if you prefer) and proponents of free expression (or filth), but its real lesson is that the two sides depend upon each other.

[6] In a review for The Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten gave the film a rating of 4.5 out of five stars, concluding that it helped unravel myths surrounding the word and describing it as captivating and educational.

[4] Moira MacDonald asked, in a review for The Seattle Times, if viewers could embrace the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and still be leery of the word's omnipresence in society.

[22] Mick LaSalle wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle that the commentators seemed monotonous and formulaic in debating freedom of speech, and criticized the film's repetition of the word "fuck".

[73] In Time Out London David Jenkins gave the film one star out of six, writing that it lacked depth on the issues of linguistics, media, and censorship.

[79] In a review for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White gave the film a grade C, calling it a dull compilation of childish observations and a failed attempt to spark a discussion about freedom of speech.

[80] Mike Pinsky of DVD Verdict concluded that the film's main arguments were achieved by the beginning of the documentary, and criticized its lack of subsequent structure and light tone overall.

[23][81][84] The disc includes an optional on-screen counter, giving viewers a running total of utterances (and appearances) of the word "fuck" during play.

[51] The teacher showed the DVD to his 11th-grade journalism class at William Penn High School without previewing it or sending permission slips home to parents.

F*ck: A Documentary and Profanity as a Teaching Tool in the Communication Classroom", by Miriam Sobre-Denton of Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Jana Simonis.