USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Catholic Schoolboy Searches for Signs of God in Wide Awake

Catholic Schoolboy Searches for Signs
of God in Wide Awake

WASHINGTON (March 20, 1998) -- The 1-800-311-4CCC movie line reviews Wide Awake for the week of March 20-26.

The 800 movie review line is a project of the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC).

The March 20-26 list includes the following theater releases and their classifications according to moral suitability. Movies are evaluated according to artistic merit and moral suitability by the U.S. Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting.

Wide Awake -- Because of its vivid depiction of a youngster's grief and a few crude words, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. Wide Awake offers a disarming tale of a 9-year-old Catholic schoolboy whose depression over the death of his grandfather leads him to search for signs that God and heaven really exist. The picture deftly captures the child's sincerity in finding the caring presence of God in daily life as he comes to terms with his loss.
Primary Colors -- Because of fleeting violence including a suicide, various implied affairs, recurring profanity and much rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Primary Colors is a political satire about a Southern governor (played by John Travolta) whose campaign for the presidential nomination is threatened by allegations of extramarital affairs. The result gives only superficial treatment to the candidate's character, while offering along the way some keen observations on the political process and ethical compromises.
The Man in the Iron Mask -- Because of occasional violence including a suicide, brief rear nudity and sexual situations, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. The Man in the Iron Mask is a lavish period melodrama in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays the dual role of evil King Louis XIV and his identical twin brother whom the Three Musketeers rescue from imprisonment to switch places with the cruel monarch. The fictional plot offers some rousing action scenes, but the rest alternates between corny sentimentality and one-dimensional villainy.
U.S. Marshals -- Because of gory violence, occasional profanity and an instance of rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. U.S. Marshals is a non-stop chase movie in which iron-willed lawman Tommy Lee Jones pursues fugitive Wesley Snipes, an innocent man charged with murder. This pale spin-off from the 1993 thriller, The Fugitive, keeps the action boiling but the characters are sketchily drawn and the plot is pure hokum.
Mr. Nice Guy -- Because of much stylized violence, menacing situations, sexual innuendo and coarse language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Mr. Nice Guy is a martial arts extravaganza with Jackie Chan as an Australian TV chef who singlehandedly demolishes an entire gang of drug traffickers. The tongue-in-cheek plot serves up one breathless chase after another through the busy streets of Melbourne, but with nothing else going on, the fast-paced action quickly becomes tiresome.
Wild Things -- Because of sporadic violence, various sexual encounters, full nudity, substance abuse, recurring profanity and much rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Wild Things is a trashy potboiler in which guidance counselor Matt Dillon is accused of raping two high school seniors, but police detective Kevin Bacon suspects the three are after the money from a court settlement. The steamy soap opera twists into ludicrous triple crosses before smugly rewarding the most vile of the conspirators.

The classifications are A-I - general patronage; A-II - adults and adolescents; A-III - adults; A-IV - adults, with reservations (an A-IV classification designates problematic films that, while not morally offensive in themselves, require caution and some analysis and explanation as a safeguard against wrong interpretations and false conclusions); O - morally offensive.

The movie reviews are produced by the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC) Office for Film and Broadcasting, which each week provides full length movies reviews, brief capsules and film classifications of new theater releases.

Reviewers include Henry Herx, Director, and Gerri Pare, Associate Director, of the Film and Broadcasting Office, which is funded by the CCC.

The capsule reviews are available on the World Wide Web. They can be found on two sites: http://www.nccbuscc.org and http://www.CatholicDigest.org/stops/movies/movies1.html.

Full-length reviews of the above and other movies are available through America Online at the Catholic News Service site on AOL, and can be accessed by AOL members using the keyword, "CNS."