The Farrelly Brothers, known for shattering the good taste barrier with gross-out comedies like “There’s Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber” have taken a couple of giant, if uncertain, steps toward the mainstream with a fairly conventional romantic comedy. It even has an undeniably sweet moral. If you’ve ever seen one of their movies, you know that “moral” is not the first word that comes to mind, unless you could say that the moral of “There’s Something About Mary” is that guys should be very careful when they zip up their pants and girls should watch what they put in their hair. But here the moral is that true beauty is seen with the heart, not the eyes (short pause for everyone to say, “Awwwwwww”).

Hal (Jack Black) and his best friend Mauricio (Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander) are two pudgy guys who insist on women with absolute physical perfection. We see why Hal feels that way in a brief prologue from his childhood. His dying father, a minister, tells him that the one thing for him to remember is that “hot young tail is what it’s all about” and he should “never settle for average.” Even though Hal grows up to be a pretty nice guy who is good at his job, when it comes to women, he is undeniably shallow.

Then he and infomercial star Anthony Robbins (playing himself) get stuck in an elevator together, and Robbins gives Hal a gift — from now on, Hal will see people the way they are, not the way they look. Suddenly, all around him are gorgeous girls who are very interested in him. They’re interested in him because he thinks they are beautiful, and he thinks they are beautiful because they are kind, generous, beautiful people. Mauricio is horrified, especially when Hal falls for Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), who volunteers at the local hospital and works for the Peace Corps. Mauricio looks at her and sees a hugely obese woman. Hal looks at her and sees — Gwyneth Paltrow.

Black is one of my favorite comic performers. His performance was the best part of “High Fidelity” and he made “Saving Silverman” almost worthwhile. His speciality is a sort of frenzied but charming energy, and unfortunately, this movie does not give him much opportunity to show it off. Paltrow has some nice moments as Rosemary. She makes us see the vulnerability of a woman who has felt humiliatingly invisible all her life. But one problem with the movie is that instead of the characters themselves being funny, the jokes in the movie happen around them. A bigger problem is that almost all of the jokes are in the commercial and coming attraction. Black and Paltrow do the best they can, but there just is not enough comic energy at the core of the movie.

Some Farelly trademarks make it into the movie, including a disabled character (athlete Rene Kirby, who has spina bifida) and a bizarre physical aberration. But overall, it seems as though it is something of a transitional film for the Farrellys, enjoyable on its own and as a suggestion of better things to come.

Parents should know that the movie has very strong language for a PG-13, especially the sexual references. Characters drink, and several scenes are set at a bar/nightclub. The overall theme of the movie is the importance of judging people based on their behavior, not their looks. Robbins explains that Black is not hypnotized now — he was hypnotized before, when he thought that all of the television and movie images of beauty were what mattered. Some viewers may feel that the movie itself makes fun of people who do not fit current standards of beauty. A disabled character is treated with complete naturalness — he is by no means perfect (because he gets around on all fourts, he tells girls he recognizes them by their panties), but he is good-hearted and respected.

Families who see this movie should talk about what we look at and what we look for when we meet people. If we saw the way Hal does, who would be the most beautiful person you know? How would you look? Would you like to see people the way Hal does?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Outside Providence based on a book by Peter Farrelly.

Toward the end of this movie, a character explains the difference between the pranks he and his friends play and those devised by a colleague. “Our shenanigans are cheeky and fun. His are cruel and tragic.” It’s a relief to hear that the people behind this movie recognize that distinction in theory, even if they are not always able to do so in practice.

“Super Troopers” feels like the kind of movie five college buddies who didn’t want to go to law school would dream up after a weeklong marathon of smoking dope and watching John Landis movies. In fact, that’s pretty much how it came about. Five recent Colgate graduates who created a comedy group called Broken Lizard wrote and star in it and one of them directed it. The result is a sort of “Animal House” crossed with Cheech and Chong with a touch of the 70’s Erik Estrada television show “ChiPs.” It is a slob comedy story of the rivalry between a group of Vermont highway patrolmen and the local police. Budget cuts are looming, so it escalates from taunts and practical jokes to a struggle over turf and then to a struggle for survival.

The members of Broken Lizard play the troupers, whose idea of “cheeky” hijinks includes making bets about how many times one of them can use the word “meow” while giving a motorist a speeding ticket or donning a hippie wig and racing the other troupers to the Canadian border.

In classic college fashion, drugs, alcohol, humiliation, and sex provide most of the subjects for humor. For example, it is supposed to be funny when a college student swallows two bags of marijuana and mushrooms, a character told to create a distraction concocts an elaborate prop to make it look like he is having sex with a bear, a character is hosed down naked and subjected to a fake delousing done with powdered sugar, and a German couple in a stolen Porsche offer sexual favors to get out of trouble — an offer that is happily accepted.

This is in the middle range for bad taste comedies, in both the bad taste and comedy categories. There are a lot of gross jokes that are cheerfully politically incorrect (even one about television cartoons made in Afganistan -“Afganimation”) but not as offensive as some of what is out there. They are not as stupid as some of what we’ve seen in recent movies, but they are not terrifically funny either. It falls somewhere between “American Pie” and Tom Green.

No one in Broken Lizard has what anyone might deem star quality — in those uniforms, they look more like they are auditioning for a local franchise for the Village People than like anyone who might know how to hold a radar gun on a speeding 18-wheeler. But director Jay Chandrasekhar and one or two of the others clearly have fun on screen and it occasionally reaches the audience.

Parents should know that the movie is mostly sex, alcohol, and drug humor, including depiction of masturbation, exhibitionism, bestiality and implied group sex. An unmarried couple has a child to whom both are clearly devoted. There are several depictions of a vulgar drawing of a cartoon character. Some law enforcement officials are shown as corrupt or stupid. Others, both male and female, black and white, are shown as high-spirited but loyal and honest. One strength of the movie is its positive portrayal of inter-racial relationships.

Families who see this movie should talk about what it might feel like to fear losing a job you like and how friendships develop among people who work together.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Caddyshack and the Police Academy and Naked Gun movies.

The fast, fun, and funny “Emperor’s New Groove” is sheer delight for the entire family. It deserves to be taken out of the rarified category of “animation” and called what it is — a cartoon. It has more in common with classic Warner Brothers cartoons like Bugs Bunny and Road Runner than with Disney animation classics. This is not one of those movies where we see the sun glistening off every leaf on every tree. It has no perky heroine with big hair sitting down in the first half hour to look up into the sky and sing about her dreams. No adorable animal sidekicks to be immortalized on backpacks, lunchboxes, and beanie babies. No soulful romantic duet to be reprised over the credits and nominated for an Oscar. In fact, no love interest at all.

What’s left is nonstop action and comedy. Most important, we get a kind of freewheeling, even improvisational tone that is downright revolutionary for a big holiday theatrical release from Disney, and a very welcome relief after the overstuffed “102 Dalmatians.” The movie even spoofs itself, along with other movies from “The Fly” to “The Wizard of Oz.” This almost casual feel may have something to do with the origin of the movie, which was originally intended to be a much more serious and ambitious story set in the time of the Aztecs. Then they junked the original script, kept the backgrounds, and created an entirely new story to go on top of it.

Now it is the story of a spoiled emperor named Kuzco, hilariously voiced by David Spade with his trademark blend of snarky self-absorption. Kuzco dismisses his advisor Yzma (voiced somewhere between a purr and a growl by Eartha Kitt and looking like an Erte fashion design drawn with a skritchy pen). She decides to poison him. Her dim but muscular sidekick Kronk (voiced by Patrick Warburton, “Seinfeld’s” Puddy) accidentally gives Kuzco the wrong potion, and instead of being killed, he is turned into a llama. Kuzco needs to get help from a peasant named Pacha (voice of John Goodman) to get his body and his kingdom back. Their adventures almost approach Indiana Jones scale as they go over a rushing waterfall (with sharp rocks at the bottom), get covered with scorpions, cornered by jaguars, and chased by Yzma and Kronk. The animation is fine, but the voice performances are brilliant, especially Spade, who is sensational.

Parents should know that, like most Disney movies, this one has some scary moments, including a nighttime jungle scene reminiscent of the woods at night in “Snow White.” Most of the peril is comic, but it still might be too much for kids under 5.

Point out to kids that Kuzco thinks that all people are selfish — because he is, while Pacha thinks that all people have some good in them — because he does. Parents should ask kids how Kuzco got to be so selfish and why Pacha’s children enjoy squabbling with each other. Families may also want to talk about how Kronk thinks about what to do by consulting the angel and devil on his shoulders. They may also want to talk about how Kuzco and Pacha decide whether to trust one another.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy “The Thief and the Cobbler,” an undiscovered animation gem.

On one hand, this is an imaginative and exciting story, based on a popular series of children’s books. On the other hand, the subject matter is vampires. Even though these vampires are friendly and only suck blood out of cows, several children in the audience at the screening I attended were visibly upset. One 5-year-old burst into tears, saying, “You told me this was going to be a funny movie!” So parents should be very cautious about taking younger children to this movie.

Jonathan Lipnicki (of “Stuart Little”) plays Tony, a boy who is not very happy about moving from San Diego to Scotland, so his father can build a golf course for Lord McAshton (John Wood). Every night, Tony has creepy dreams about vampires, but no one believes him when he says that they are real. His teacher punishes him and classmates bully him.

One night, a real vampire flies into Tony’s room. This vampire is Rudolph, and he is about Tony’s age — or he would be, if he had not been a vampire for 300 years. Rudolph tells Tony that the vampires want to be human again, and that they can do it if they can escape the vampire killer who is after them, and if they can find the missing amulet before the comet arrives.

Tony and Rudolph become friends. Tony helps Rudolph find cows so he can suck their blood. (Rudolph explains, “We want to become human, not eat them for dinner!”) Tony doesn’t have a coffin handy when he wants Rudolph to sleep over, but his footlocker works just as well. And it turns out that a vampire is a handy friend when it comes to dealing with school bullies.

All turns out fine, but there are some grisly adventures along the way. The production design is outstanding, and Richard E. Grant and Alice Krige as Rudolph’s vampire parents are first rate.

Parents should know that this movie includes dead bodies, stakes through the heart, a child locked in a crypt, a dead mouse, vampire cows, references to the undead, and a generally ghoulish atmosphere. Some kids, especially fans of the book, will love this stuff, but others will be upset by it. In addition, there are characters in peril, schoolyard fights with bullies, and a brief adult fistfight.

Families who see this movie should talk about what we do when we get scared. Tony pretends to be a vampire, one way to be less scared by them. And once he sees that Rudolph needs his help, he is not afraid anymore. Talk to kids about the bullies at school, and any experiences they may have had with bullies. Do they think that Tony becomes a bully in the movie?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy the creepy but silly adventures of Scooby-Doo, like “Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers.”

This is one of the rarest of movie treats, a thinking person’s thriller that is genuinely haunting. You’re lucky if you see a movie that you are still thinking about by the time you reach your car; this one you may find yourself thinking about for days. Its ultimate conclusion is stunning but, in retrospect, inevitable.

Parents should not be misled by the PG-13 rating. This movie is in some ways far scarier than the R-rated “The Blair Witch Project.” Parents should be cautious about allowing children under high school age to attend, and should be prepared to talk to kids about the movie, because even teens may find it upsetting.

Bruce Willis plays Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a gifted therapist who specializes in children. The night he receives an award for his work, a former patient breaks into his house and shoots Dr. Crowe and then himself. Months later, Dr. Crowe is still very shaken. He feels that he cannot communicate with his wife. He is treating just one patient, a boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), who reminds him of the patient he believes he failed. Malcolm gradually wins Cole’s trust, and Cole confides that he sees “dead people.” At first, Malcolm thinks this is a symptom of deep psychological disturbance, but then he comes to believe that Cole really does see the spirits of people who have died and he must find a way to make that experience less terrifying for him.

Osment is truly sensational, one of the finest performances ever given by a child. Willis complements him perfectly, and the interaction between the two of them is deeply touching. This movie has some thoughtful and meaningful views on life and death that some viewers may find comforting, and others may find sad or disturbing. The ghosts that Cole sees are of people who died violently and they are gruesome, even shockingly so, in appearance. Some are children, one killed by her own mother. Parents whose children see this movie should talk with them about their views on the afterlife and on the importance of telling those we love what is in our hearts while we can.

Video tip: Teens who like this movie will also like “Truly, Madly, Deeply,” a romantic and highly satisfying story of a young woman trying to cope with the death of her lover.