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 February 12, 2004
RECOMMENDED
Cheaper by the Dozen C-
(PG) - A 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.
Miracle B-
(PG) - The fact-based story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team is inspiring, patriotic and, for sports fans, the quintessential underdog saga. Salty language in the heat of competition and rough-and-tumble hockey violence shouldn't keep children away from this rousing film.
Teacher's Pet
(PG) - The 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 and expecting children to steer adults to the theater.
RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS
50 First Dates C+
(PG-13) - Adam Sandler's brand of sexual humor, crude gags and drug references is popular with young audiences and tame by Farrelly brothers standards. He teams again with The Wedding Singer co-star Drew Barrymore for a romantic comedy about a man wooing a women with short-term memory loss. Recommended for ages 13 and older.
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.
Catch That Kid
(PG) - Robbing banks becomes child's play in this comedy about three preteens committing larceny for a good cause. Mild profanity, crude humor and thematic elements - such as making crime seem cool - led to the MPAA rating.
The Triplets of Belleville A
(PG-13) - This astonishing throwback to hand-drawn animation is as beautiful in its own way as Finding Nemo. The story traces the kidnapping of a French bicycle racer whose grandmother and faithful dog are assisted by three elderly sisters who used to be chanteuses. The movie is from France and no subtitles are used, yet every meaning is expressed: the kind of viewing experience that can sharpen children's wits. Brief sexuality and mild violence make it appropriate for ages 13 and over.
You Got Served
(PG-13) - Street dancing crews use their moves to settle gang disputes and forge careers. The acrobatic technique has built-in youth appeal and, according to the MPAA, the questionable material is kept down to "thematic elements and sexual references." Sounds mild compared to other hip-hop culture movies.
NOT RECOMMENDED
Along Came Polly B-
(PG-13) - Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston are teamed in a romantic comedy featuring sexual content, comical rear nudity, profanity, crude humor and drug references.
Barbershop 2: Back in Business B-
(PG-13) - Expect the same profanity, sexual material and drug references from this sequel to the 2002 hit Barbershop. Perhaps even another controversy as when a veteran barber (Cedric the Entertainer) angered some folks with irreverent remarks about civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
The Big Bounce C-
(PG-13) - Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman are swindlers in a genially amoral caper flick. The MPAA rating is the result of profanity and sensuality in the Hawaiian locales.
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.
Girl With a Pearl Earring B-
(PG-13) - A few brief moments of repressed sensuality are found in the story of Dutch artist Jan Vermeer (Colin Firth) and his housemaid (Scarlett Johansson), the subject of a famous painting. However, the film's pacing, even at only 95 minutes, will be too dull for most 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 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.
The Perfect Score C-
(PG-13) - What's wrong with this picture? A movie aimed at teenagers makes stealing SAT test answers seem cool and the best way to get ahead. Plus the film contains profanity, sexual content and drug references.
Torque
(PG-13) - Motorcycle gangs collide on the streets 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.
Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! D
(PG-13) - A small-town grocery clerk (Kate Bosworth) wins a publicity stunt date with a famous actor (Josh Duhamel), making her best friend (Topher Grace) jealous. The MPAA rating is for sexual content, occasional profanity and drug references.
