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Family movie guide
By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 15, 2002
The Family Movie Guide should be used along with the Motion Picture Association of America rating system for selecting movies suitable for children. Only films rated G, PG or PG-13 are included in this weekly listing, along with occasional R-rated films that may have entertainment or educational value for older children with parental guidance. Compiled by St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall.
RECOMMENDED
The Country Bears
(G) -- Good, clean fun from Disney, based on one of its most obsolete amusement-park attractions, the Country Bear Jamboree. The movie version is hipper and funnier, and it accomplishes that without objectionable material. A subplot concerning a bear adopted by humans and not fitting in shouldn't concern adoptive parents; the writing is wise and responsible.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
(PG) -- Steve Irwin's appeal comes from handling dangerous things such as spiders and snakes. Children who fear such critters may be scared by his movie debut. A sprinkling of mild profanity and bloodless gunfire won't offend many parents.
Lilo & Stitch
(PG) -- Children will love Stitch, an ill-tempered alien posing as a pet on Earth in Disney's summertime animation offering. Girls will bond with Lilo, a Hawaiian orphan dealing with a big sister, taunting classmates and loneliness. A few crude but harmless jokes, and a few nice messages.
The Master of Disguise
(PG) -- Silly comedy starring Dana Carvey as an Italian waiter who can transform himself into any person or object while pursuing a criminal mastermind. Mild profanity, crude humor.
Stuart Little 2
(PG) -- Children should have another fine time cheering Stuart Little, a heroic talking mouse adopted by humans. Mild slapstick violence against animals is too cartoonish to be taken seriously. Mildly crude language.
RECOMMENDEDWITH RESERVATIONS
Men in Black II
(PG-13) -- Sequel to the 1997 hit reunites Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as intergalactic border patrol cops. Some creatures they encounter are nightmarish enough to upset small viewers, and the science-fiction style of violence loudly substitutes alien goop for human blood. Mildly risque humor, and co-star Lara Flynn Boyle's costumes leave little to prepubescent imaginations.
Mr. Deeds
(PG-13) -- Adam Sandler's fans will notice a gentler brand of humor in this remake of Frank Capra's 1936 classic, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Sandler still sneaks in a slapstick brawl and a few coarse remarks, but the film remains generally true to Capra's spirit. Moderate profanity, some suggestive humor and alcohol abuse.
NOT RECOMMENDED
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
(PG-13) -- Eddie Murphy's naughty side emerges on occasion, playing a nightclub owner on the moon being muscled by lunar gangsters. Moderate profanity and sexually charged humor, plus gangland violence with a sci-fi touch.
Austin Powers in Goldmember
(PG-13) -- The world's most shagadelic secret agent returns with more risque jokes, carnally suggestive sight gags and a general feeling of impudence toward good taste. Satirical spy violence, sexual situations, profanity. Think James Bond on Viagra and you'll get the idea.
Blue Crush
(PG-13) -- Beach parties aren't what they were when Frankie and Annette were catching rays. The modern style features skimpier bathing suits, a stronger sexual dynamic and a more violent fight. Girls may be inspired by the fortitude of females tackling the male-dominated surfing world, but kids shouldn't try some of these stunts at their home beach.
K-19: The Widowmaker
(PG-13) -- Too long and talky for many young attention spans, with a fact-based plot preventing big-bang excitement. Some sequences involving atomic radiation poisoning are fairly graphic, and the violence is based more on intimidation than actions. Older children interested in Cold War history may be entertained.
Minority Report
(PG-13) -- Only Steven Spielberg could get away with PG-13 for such a tense, violent and thematically frightening film. It's science fiction, which may attract young viewers, but the film's vision of a future world is too bleak and cerebral for some. Mature themes include drug addiction and grisly humor. Brief sexual situations and profanity.
Signs
(PG-13) -- Mel Gibson plays a widower protecting his family from alien invasion. This is not a slam-bang adventure like Independence Day, however. Signs is a moody parable of post-Sept. 11 fear with doomsday themes that may upset young viewers. The film contains two mildly violent episodes and a few comic-relief profanities, but no nudity or sex. Mature themes include a parent's gruesome death and a crisis of faith by Gibson's character, a former reverend.
Tadpole
(PG-13) -- A 15-year-old boy (Aaron Stanford) has a crush on his stepmother (Sigourney Weaver) and then is seduced by her 40-something best friend (Bebe Neuwirth) in a smartly written sex comedy. Things turn out so well that children could get some wrong ideas. The pedophilic angle is barely acknowledged.
XXX
(PG-13) -- A new breed of secret agent (Vin Diesel) brings a lot of violence with him. XXX (pronounced Triple-X) is wall-to-wall action, with a hero breaking the law as much as enforcing it. The rating results from "non-stop action sequences, sensuality, drug content and language."
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