Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:18 am

C+
Lowest Recommended Age: Middle School
Profanity: Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Characters drink and smoke a lot, alcohol portrayed as empowering and fun
Violence/ Scariness: Mother beats children, some peril
Diversity Issues: Characters object to racism, some sterotyping
Date Released to Theaters: 2002

All of the ingredients for a good, old-fashioned chick flick are here – an Oscar-winning cast willing to pull out all the stops; quirky, flawed, but relentlessly adorable and completely devoted characters with cute names; handsome, supportive, understanding, and completely devoted boyfriends (one with a cute accent); and a mother-daughter reconciliation. Everyone is just as colorful as can be. It even has a built-in audience of fans who made the book into a sleeper sensation.

But it doesn’t quite make it into the pantheon of chick flick greatness, alongside such classics as “Terms of Endearment” and “Steel Magnolias.” The story has more flash than heart, and the resolution is a little too pat and easy. We hear a lot about the great friendship but don’t really feel it. There is something truly unsavory about the portrayal of knocking someone out and abducting her as madcap and charming. And the plot is a Swiss cheese of logical holes. Still, it is a great pleasure to watch these fine actresses give their all, and to hear the soundtrack by T. Bone Burnett, the guy behind the magnificent Grammy-winning soundtrack of “O Brother Where Art Thou.”

Playwright Sidalee Walker (Sandra Bullock), preparing for a Broadway opening of her autobiographical play, tells a reporter for Time Magazine that her childhood was troubled, and her mother, Vivi (Ellen Burstyn) throws a fit and stops talking to her. So Vivi’s lifelong friends, who as children in a moonlight ceremony involving blood, chocolate, and very elaborate headgear, declared themselves to be the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, take off for the Big City to kidnap Sidalee so that they can explain a few things to her.

Now it would all be too easy for them to just sit down with her in her apartment in Manhattan and talk to her. So, they put knock-out-powder in her drink (am I the only one who thinks that it is impossible to make a rufie anything but horrifying) and, with the help of her devoted Irish fiancé Connor (Angus MacFadyen), pour her into an airplane seat. She wakes up in a secluded cabin, where the Ya-Yas present her with a scrapbook that will help her understand and forgive her mother.

So, we go back in time and meet Vivi as a spirited young girl and teenager, and, after her fiancé is killed in World War II, a broken-hearted young woman, and a loving but overwhelmed mother. She drinks and smokes a lot. She doesn’t love her husband – she is still angry with him because he is alive and the man she really loved is dead. She tells Sidda to pretend to drown so that she can pretend to rescue her. But when it comes time for a real rescue, when the kids all get sick at once, she cannot handle it and runs away. And of course the children blame themselves.

Sidda learns that it was not her fault and it was not really Vivi’s fault, either, and Vivi learns a few things, too, so there is a happy ending for everyone. But it never feels real. Part of it is the absence of the people far more likely than Vivi’s friends to help Sidda sort through everything – where are her sisters and the other petites ya-yas (children of the Ya-Yas)? It is superficial and a little manipulative – the big revelation that is supposed to answer all questions is not so big and leaves more than a few questions still open.

The acting is a joy, though, especially the divine Maggie Smith as a steel magnolia who drags around an oxygen tank and tosses off quips drier than any martini. Burstyn and Judd do a terrific job of melding their performances so that you can believe they are playing the same character.

Parents should know that the movie features characters who drink and smoke a lot, and drinking is shown to be a light-hearted way to bond with friends, though alcohol abuse is shown to be painful for the children of the drinker. There are mild sexual references including inexplicit nudity. While the main characters object to racist remarks in very strong terms, and the feelings of one black character are treated respectfully, the treatment of the black characters is stereotyped. They are portrayed as devoted family retainers. A character abuses prescription drugs, apparently inadvertently. A mother neglects and abuses her children.

Families who see this movie should talk about why it was so difficult for the characters to talk with each other about their feelings.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Where the Heart Is, Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, and Postcards from the Edge.

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Lilo & Stitch

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:18 am

A
Lowest Recommended Age: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Profanity: None
Alcohol/ Drugs: None
Violence/ Scariness: Some peril and scary looking creatures, no one hurt
Diversity Issues: All major characters are non-white, strong female and minority characters
Date Released to Theaters: 2002

“Lilo and Stitch” is as welcome as a gentle breeze coming through the hibiscus.

It has a cute story, endearing characters, a sensational soundtrack of Elvis classics, and glorious hand-painted animation that shows those smarties hunched over their computers that there are still a few things machines can’t do.

At its heart, it’s just an old-fashioned story of a child and a pet. But this is not the usual movie child and it is definitely not the usual pet.

The movie opens on some far-away planet with all kinds of monstrous-looking creatures. One of them, a scientist, has been experimenting with genetics, and has created an indestructible destruction machine called 626 in the form of a mischievous-looking little blue guy. The scientist is thrown in jail, but the experiment escapes and races off to a planet they refer to as “E-Arth.” So, the scientist and an expert on Earth are sent after him to capture him with a minimum of fuss.

626 lands in Hawaii and disguises himself as a dog. He is adopted by a tiny little girl named Lilo who is grieving the loss of her parents. She names him Stitch and teaches him that even a creature designed to destroy can learn to create.

The story is nothing new, but the Hawaiian location and gorgeous visuals give it a fresh feeling. Instead of the usual wasp-waisted Disney heroines with impossibly big hair, we get attractive but believable-looking Nani, Lilo’s sister, who is struggling to grow up quickly so that she can care for Lilo the way her parents did. And Lilo’s passion for Elvis Presley means that instead of girls looking up at the stars and trilling ballads about their dreams we get a bouncy score of favorites like “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “All Shook Up,” and of course, “Blue Hawaii.” The score also features Elvis hits “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” sung by a chorus of Hawaiian children and “Burning Love” sung by country superstar Wynonna Judd.

Lilo is irresistibly adorable and her relationship with her sister is a believable mixture of affection, resentment, and connection. Both are deeply affected by the loss of their parents and torn between fearing another loss and just wanting to get it over with. Ving Rhames adds just the right note of wry authority to his role as the social worker with a surprising past, and Jason Scott Lee is fine as the friend who would like to be more. There is some very funny dialogue, especially the description of Earth as an endangered species preserve — the endangered species is mosquitos, and humans are just kept around to feed them!

Parents should know that the movie is rated PG for some action and peril that may be too intense for the youngest children. The loss of Lilo’s and Nani’s parents in a car accident is handled quietly and sensitively, but still may be upsetting for some children. They may also be concerned about the idea that a social worker might want to remove Lilo from her sister’s home if he does not think she can take care of her. Female characters, including Nani and the leader of Stitch’s planet, are strong and independent. It is a special pleasure to have a movie set in a part of America that is often forgotten, and the scenery, especially in the sensational surfing scene, is likely to have families thinking about heading in that direction for a future vacation.

Families who see this movie should talk about Lilo’s definition of a family: “No one gets left behind.” Why didn’t the other girls want to play with Lilo? Are there things that Lilo and Nani could have talked about with each other that would have made them feel better? Why didn’t Stitch stay the destructive monster he was designed to be? Did anything surprise you in the scenes at the end that showed what happened to Lilo and Stitch and Nani?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove, Toy Story and Toy Story 2. They may also want to try You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.

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Road to Perdition

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:18 am

B+
Lowest Recommended Age: Mature High Schooler
Profanity: Strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Drinking and smoking
Violence/ Scariness: A lot of peril and violence, including organized crime killings and death of innocent family members
Diversity Issues: All major characters are white
Date Released to Theaters: 2002

Road to Perdition is a powerful, beautifully made film about fathers and sons and sin and redemption, that overrides minor flaws through beautiful directing and first class performances.

Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a tough hit man in 1931 Chicago, whose loyalty and sense of duty keep him working for John Rooney (film legend Paul Newman), a friendly but firm Irish mob boss who cares about the men he works with but will not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way. Rooney treats Sullivan like a son. Rooney’s real son, Connor (Daniel Craig) is paranoid and impulsive.

Sullivan keeps his family out of his work, but when his curious son Michael, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) sees something he isn’t supposed to see, Rooney’s jealous and paranoid son Connor (Daniel Craig) tries to make sure he doesn’t talk by killing Sullivan’s wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son (Liam Aiken) but missing Michael Jr. The rest of the film follows Sullivan on a road trip with his surviving son as he seeks vengeance on the hiding and protected Connor and trying to avoid his former affiliates. Along the way he robs banks, making sure the bankers give him money from other crooks (“If I find out this belonged to some poor farmers, I’m going to be very unhappy,” he tells one (not exact quote)) while his son drives the getaway car. To make matters worse, there is a sadistic, despicable man who photographs murder scenes (Jude Law, amazingly turned into something unsightly) on Sullivan’s trail, and he’s willing to assist the murder process to get a good shot. Adventures ensue, and the Sullivans meet many people and go many places with mixed results until the film’s inevitable conclusion.

This is one of the best made films so far this year, and Mendes, Hanks, and Newman are sure to be remembered during Oscar predictions at the end of the year. The story, too is interesting, with the father-son relationships and David Self’s (Thirteen Days) adapted screenplay being both realistic and intriguing. However, some important factors, such as more about Jude Law’s character and some essential aspects of Sullivan and Rooney’s relationship are ignored, as this ambitious film is scared of being overlong, an oft-criticized quality of epic dramas like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. It leaves the viewer to decide, but if it had just gone out on a limb there, the film could’ve been saved from having some baffling moments at its conclusion. Nonetheless, it is undoubtedly one of this year’s best films, and I’m hoping there will be deleted scenes on the DVD.

Parents should know that there is predictably coarse language from the 1930s gangsters, as well as some bloody murder scenes, always by gunfire. A woman and small child are killed off screen, and the main characters are often in peril.

Families who watch this movie should ask why Mr. Sullivan was so bent on killing the murderer of his family, and even what makes criminals likeable in movies.

Families who enjoy this film may also enjoy some of the classic films chronicling lives and crimes, such as Bonnie and Clyde and the Coen brothers’ Miller’s Crossing. As epic, family drama, and crime story, the The Godfather films are unbeatable.

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The Banger Sisters

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:18 am

C+
Lowest Recommended Age: Mature High Schooler
Profanity: Very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Teen drinking and drug use
Violence/ Scariness: Gun use, no one hurt
Diversity Issues: Diversity of life choices, all characters white
Date Released to Theaters: 2002

The considerable pleasures of watching Oscar-winners Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, and Geoffrey Rush displaying all of their combined charm and talent are repeatedly tripped up by a lame script that wastes not just its stars but also an enticing premise.

Hawn plays Suzette, an aging free spirit who never quite left the 60’s. She is still working as a bartender in a club and sees herself as the same girl who dropped out of high school to go to concerts and have sex with musicians. But the rock stars who perform there and the club manager are not impressed. She loses her job. So, she decides to find her one-time best pal, Vinnie (Susan Sarandon). But Vinnie is now Lavinia, the very proper of two teen-agers and wife of a lawyer with political ambitions, and she has done her best to eradicate any vestige of her wild youth, even from her own memory. One is all about sensation and the moment and the other is all about being careful and fitting in.

Hawn is marvelous as Suzette, who could be an older version of the Penny Lane character played by her daughter, Kate Hudson, in “Almost Famous.” Hawn shows us not just Suzette’s spirit but also her vulnerability. Suzette has had sex for every possible reason except intimacy. She has given sexual favors to get close to rock stars and to show herself and others that she is a wild and amazing person. When she offers herself to Harry (Rush), a man she met on the road, just to get a place to stay, we see that she has almost completely lost the notion of herself as precious. But then, when she runs into Vinnie’s daughter Hannah (“Traffic’s” Erika Christensen), having a bad acid trip at her high school graduation party, we also see that she can respond to the preciousness of other people. She cares for Hannah tenderly, causing Harry – and the audience – to see that she is more than a careless party girl.

At first, Vinnie is horrified to see Suzette, and offers her $5000 to go away. But Suzette won’t take it. As desperate as she is for money, she finds that she wants friendship even more. And then, as Vinnie discovers that despite her best efforts, she has not been able to protect her daughters from taking risks, she begins to long for that part of herself that was adventuresome and colorful.

Sarandon and Rush are also marvelous, giving Vinnie and Harry vastly more interest than the script does. They are so good that the idiotic arbitrariness of the script doesn’t leap off the screen the way it should. For example, Harry is horrified by his bus trip because two flies landed on his hand and had sex (I know, that was my reaction, too – huh??). So, what does he do? He abandons the bus to ride in Suzette’s skuzzy beat-up car. A character has a loaded gun, a teenager uses drugs and has sex with a possibly untrustworthy boyfriend, another teenager drives without a license and hits a parked car – these are all events that seem to be thrown into the plot so that characters can react to them and then are just abandoned. Characters completely change their minds for no reason.

Families should know that the movie has very strong language, sexual situations and explicit references that include teen sex, a variety of sexual acts, and photographic souvenirs of sexual encounters. Characters drink and use drugs, including teenagers. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll are portrayed as emblems of liberation and a fulfilling life. A character says he plans to shoot his father.

Families who see this movie should talk about how Suzette and Vinnie were changed by their reunion. How will Vinnie’s relationship with her family change? Families should also talk about how much of her past Vinnie should have discussed with her daughters and what they think she was doing well or badly as a mother of teenagers. Parents may want to use this movie to talk about their own choices as teens and how that affected the messages they tried to send their children. Vinnie’s daughter says “You’re allowed to fail; I’m not.” Vinnie says, “I’m just trying to keep you safe.” Harry also wants to be safe. How much risk and how much failure should parents expect or allow from their kids? What does your family think of Suzette’s view that people who love each other fight and argue, and she wants to have someone to argue with. And parents should make sure that their children know the difference between Jim Morrison and Van Morrison!

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy “Almost Famous” and another movie about two middle-aged women who reunite after going in very different directions, “The Turning Point.”

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The Secret Garden

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:18 am

A+
Lowest Recommended Age: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
Profanity: None
Alcohol/ Drugs: None
Violence/ Scariness: None (in the 1984 version, we see what happens to the characters and learn that Dickon has
Diversity Issues: NULL
Date Released to Theaters: 1994

Plot: Mary Lennox is a sour and selfish girl, spoiled by an Indian nanny and neglected by her parents. When they are killed, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle Archibald Craven, a mysterious and lonely man. He rarely returns to his home in Yorkshire, and leaves Mary to the care of Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper, and Martha, the maid. Both are busy, and Mary has nothing to do but wander around the moors.

One day, Mary finds the key to a secret garden, once the favorite place for her uncle and his wife, whom he adored. After she died, he locked it up and swore no one would go in there again. Mary is determined to find it.

Following the sound of crying she often hears in the night, she finds that there is another child living in the house. It is her uncle’s son, Colin. He has been confined to bed all his life and is spoiled and demanding to the point of hysteria. Mary soothes him by telling him about the garden. Later, when he has a tantrum, she is the first person ever to impose limits on his behavior. He tells her that he is afraid he will have a hunched back like his father, and she tells him his back is fine.

Mary finds the garden, and she and Colin and Martha’s brother Dickon work to bring it back to life. As they do, Mary and Colin get stronger in body and in spirit. When Archibald returns, he meets them in the garden. They run to him, and it is clear that the garden will heal him, too.

Discussion: Every child should read this book and see at least one of the filmed versions. Children respond to Mary Lennox because (at least in the beginning) she is so unlikable, a relief from all the Pollyannas and Cinderellas who are rewarded for their relentlessly sunny characters and good deeds. And then there is the pleasure of meeting Colin, who is even worse, a “young rajah” who has had his every wish granted instantly and is surrounded only by those who live in terror of his hysteria. Mary and Colin are a perfect match for each other, and the scene in which she responds to his tantrum with fury is one of the most satisfying in any children’s book — indeed, in any book, as is the scene in which they enter the garden together, a wonderful metaphor for all that is going on inside their spirits.

T

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