Want to watch a trailer? They’re all on YouTube. Need to know where you’ve seen that balding character actor before? Cross-reference him on IMDb.com. It’s the rare factoid that’s not available online. Yet even in this age of endless information, getting all the facts we need to choose movies wisely can be a challenge. Even from “trustworthy” sources.
Recently I sat down to screen a DVD I hadn’t watched in a long time simply because my son asked if he’s old enough now to see it. Hmmm. I knew it contained comic book-style action violence. But how harsh? I needed to check. And there was definitely a steamy lip-lock to cut out (editing involves me sending my son into the kitchen for snacks while I fast-forward through the questionable scene). I also seemed to recall a few pungent profanities—nothing I couldn’t handle with my trusty “mute” button. The trick was knowing where to expect them. So I grabbed the remote.
Soon the white Motion Picture Association of America rating was floating in a sea of blue. Beneath it, several phrases explained what content had earned this big-budget popcorn-muncher its rating: Sequences of intense action violence. Some frightening sci-fi images. Brief suggestive content.
Wait, no swearing? I could’ve sworn there was swearing.
Indeed, as it turned out the film did contain a smattering of mild profanities, plus the edgier expressions lodged in my memory. Yet even with ample room to qualify its rating, the MPAA—which says it wants “to help parents make informed decisions about what their kids are watching”—didn’t feel that the language was worth a warning.
A few days later, I was disappointed again when respected film critic Roger Ebert committed a similar oversight. In his review of the grown-up tourist drama The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, he alluded to Tom Wilkinson’s character, Graham Dashwood, “who spent the happiest years of his life in India and has now returned to seek his young love.” Sweet and romantic, right? But nowhere in his analysis did Mr. Ebert bother to mention that Dashwood’s lover was a man. The critic wasn’t protecting a Crying Game-esque plot twist. Apparently, Dashwood’s sexual orientation just didn’t bear mentioning.
Have we reached the place in our society where an onscreen lifestyle choice like this isn’t worth noting, even in an incidental, nonjudgmental way? It would appear so. Much like Roger Ebert, Nick Pinkerton of The Village Voice said merely this in his Marigold review: “You’ll look forward to Tom Wilkinson’s turn as a retired high-court judge who still goes fluttery over the memory of an affair from schoolboy days.” I can’t help but think that many of Ebert’s and Pinkerton’s readers would have appreciated a little more information before heading to the multiplex.
These cases reminded me why I come to work every morning. Sure, some people will rib us for scribbling pages of notes or counting profanities as we sit in a dark theater. But the more I see our culture’s casual attitudes toward movie content—even from nationally respected critics and the MPAA itself—the more I appreciate how Plugged In’s editors sweat the details for families. Thank you for your support, and for giving us a chance to serve you this way.
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