USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - The New Out-of-Towners Add to Remake Trend

The New Out-of-Towners Add to Remake Trend

WASHINGTON --The 1-800-311-4CCC movie line reviews The Out-of-Towners for the week of April 2-8. Also included on the toll-free line is a review of The Rugrats Movie, this week's suggested home video for family viewing.

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

The April 2-8 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.

The Out-of-Towners -- Because of sexual references and 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. In The Out-of-Towners Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn play a Midwestern couple who arrive in New York City for a job interview but are immediately mugged, leaving them penniless, homeless and increasingly crazed to survive the city's nighttime perils. The comedy is a sluggish re-make of Neil Simon's 1970 hit, with an updated but only fitfully funny script that lacks a consistently madcap quality.
The Mod Squad -- Because of hokey violence, sexual situations, recurring rough language and occasional profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. The Mod Squad is an inept movie based on a 30-year-old TV series about three young criminals given a second chance to work undercover for the police. Here, the trio is more punk than mod as they battle corrupt cops and drug traffickers in a disjointed story that lacks any sense of credibility.
10 Things I Hate About You -- Because of brief violence, crass sexual references and some underage drinking, 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. 10 Things I Hate About You is a sometimes crude high school comedy in which a surly senior is paid to date a pretty but hostile classmate so that her younger sister will then be allowed to date as well. The lame proceedings present adults as hapless or horrible and adolescents as having mostly one thing on their minds.
The Matrix -- Because of excessive violence and recurring profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification, 0 -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating, R -- restricted. The Matrix is a convoluted sci-fi tale in which a tiny band of cyber rebels led by Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne do battle with virtually indestructible humanoid killers from the 22nd century. The action movie's violence is glorified, glamorized and made to look exciting with a dazzling array of eyepopping special effects.
Doug's First Movie -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. Doug's First Movie is an uninspired feature-length cartoon based on a children's TV series in which a two 12-year-old boys hide an E.T.-like creature that emerged from a polluted lake until it can be safely relocated to a new home. Flat, nearly static animation makes the skimpy tale seem to drag on long beyond its few charms have faded.
EDtv -- Because of implied affairs, fleeting nudity, numerous sexual references and intermittent profanity, 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. In EDtv a video store clerk (played by Matthew McConaughey) is paid to have his daily life televised but sudden fame leads to embarrassing family revelations and spooks his girlfriend. The predictable comedy goes for cheap laughs of the dumb-and-dumber variety while poking fun at the cult of celebrity.

The family video of the week is The Rugrats Movie -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. The Rugrats Movie is an animated tale based on the children's TV series in which five frisky toddlers get lost in a scary forest while trying to return the crybaby infant brother of one of them to the baby hospital. The tykes survive assorted dangers and misadventures as they discover the meaning of friendship and helping the helpless.

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 movie 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/index.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."