The Family Movie Guide should be used along with the Motion Picture Association of America rating system for selecting movies suitable for children.
By STEVE PERSALL
Published January 15, 2004
RECOMMENDED
Cheaper by the Dozen C-
(PG) - Harried father (Steve Martin) cares for his brood while his wife (Bonnie Hunt) is away. Mildly crude humor aside, this is fine family entertainment as long as the family isn't picky.
Dr. Seuss' the Cat in the Hat C
(PG) - Another gently simple children's book gets blown up to Hollywood proportions with Mike Myers (and a terrific makeup job) playing the mischievous home intruder. The filmmakers sneak a few double-entendres into the mix, plus some mildly crude humor that kids love these days.
Peter Pan B-
(PG) - The perilous aspects of the classic children's novel (crocodiles, Captain Hook, etc.) may be scarier with flesh-and-blood actors than Disney's animation. Mild violence in the more adventurous scenes.
Teacher's Pet
(PG) - The MPAA rating results from occasionally crude humor, but what should offend parents is Disney's ploy of stringing together three episodes of a defunct TV series, slapping the studio's trusted brand name on it and expecting children to steer adults to the theater.
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
Calendar Girls B+
(PG-13) - Based on a true story, members of a British women's society pose nude for a fundraising calendar. Genteel nudity of mature women played for sweet humor, brief profanity and one scene of a teenager caught smoking what appears to be marijuana. Recommended for ages 13 and older.
The Haunted Mansion B-
(PG) - Eddie Murphy stars in a scary comedy based on the Disney attraction. A few mild innuendoes and profanities aren't much for parents to worry about, but some of the frightening sights of corpses and the like may be too intense for young children. Recommended for ages 10 and older.
In America A
(PG-13) - A young Irish family immigrates to New York in the 1980s, its story told from the perspective of two young girls (real sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger). Mature themes include grief over a child's death, a neighbor with AIDS and marital problems. Brief profanity and violence, and one scene of sexuality. Recommended for 13 and older.
Mona Lisa Smile C-
(PG-13) - Teenage girls may glean a few lessons in this drama set in the 1950s about a professor (Julia Roberts) teaching assertiveness to her debutante students. Mature themes, including sexism, sexual experimentation and an older male seducing students, may be too risque for younger viewers. Recommended for ages 13 and older.
Paycheck B-
(PG-13) - Ben Affleck stars as a man whose memory of the past two years have been erased. Directed by John Woo (Mission: Impossible, Face/Off), so expect intense action violence and brief profanity in a story created by science fiction author Philip K. Dick.
NOT RECOMMENDED
Along Came Polly B-
(PG-13) - Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston are teamed in a romantic comedy featuring sexual content, profanity, crude humor and drug references.
Big Fish B-
(PG-13) - Brief profanity, one scene involving a bloody fistfight and a few glimpses of rear nudity in a supernatural sense shouldn't worry parents. However, Tim Burton's tale of a lifelong liar (Albert Finney) sharing his personal myth with an estranged son (Billy Crudup) won't interest small children. The film's pacing and mature themes make it suitable for ages 15 and older.
Chasing Liberty B
(PG-13) - Teen favorite Mandy Moore plays a U.S. president's daughter having a fling outside the protection of the Secret Service. One scene of skinny-dipping (with a body double for Moore) and several sexual references, along with a defiance of parental authority theme and beer drinking.
Honey
(PG-13) - Jessica Alba (TV's Dark Angel) plays a music video choreographer bucking sexual harassment on her way to the top. Some profanity, drug references and sexual material make this hip-hop attraction questionable for children.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King A
(PG-13) - Peter Jackson's concluding chapter to the epic trilogy is the masterpiece fans expect it to be, but it isn't kid stuff. Numerous intense battle sequences are brutal, and the creatures encountered by Hobbits and other heroes are the stuff of nightmares. No profanity, sex or nudity, but the running time (201 min.) will test the patience of children.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World A
(PG-13) - Russell Crowe's seafaring adventure was one of 2003's best films, but it's not necessarily for children. Intensely violent battles during the Napoleonic era are quite bloody, as is brain surgery on an injured sailor. Another scene depicts a young boy's arm being amputated. Brief profanity. Perhaps too talky in spots to hold young viewers' attention.
My Baby's Daddy
(PG-13) - Three babies born out of wedlock create a radical lifestyle change for their fathers (Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, Michael Imperioli). That doesn't keep the movie from packing in the sexual content, crude humor, moderate profanity and drug references.
Something's Gotta Give C+
(PG-13) - Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet create a romantic rectangle in a comedy built around the expectation that love can work outside one's age bracket. Strong profanity, brief nudity and numerous sexual references.
Stuck on You B-
(PG-13) - All that parents need to know is that this is a comedy from the Farrelly brothers, who stretched the limits of good taste (and PG-13 parameters) with There's Something About Mary, Kingpin and Dumb & Dumber. This one stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins who become celebrities by starring on a TV series with Cher. The MPAA rating is for crude and sexual humor and moderate profanity.
Torque
(PG-13) - Motorcycle gangs collide on the street of Los Angeles in a barrage of action violence, sexuality, profanity and drug references, not to mention lots of two-wheel tricks that kids shouldn't try at home.
