SWEET HOME ALABAMA
RATING: PG-13
STARRING: Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place, Fred Ward, Jean Smart, and Ethan Embry
DIRECTOR: Andy Tennant
PRODUCERS: Neal H. Moritz and Stokely Chaffin
WRITERS: C. Jay Cox and Douglas J. Eboch
DISTRIBUTOR: Touchstone Pictures/Buena Vista
GENRE: Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Teenagers and adults
SUMMARY: Sweet Home Alabama stars Reese Witherspoon as Melanie Carmichael, a New York fashion designer from the South who finds herself engaged to Andrew, the son of the city’s glamorous female mayor. This movie has a moral worldview that’s friendly to the South and surprisingly critical to snooty Yankee Democrats, but it contains some politically correct homosexual references and lots of mostly light foul language.
Sweet Home Alabama is more interested in telling how Melanie regains her Southern roots than it is in generating lots of big laughs. Viewers expecting a laugh-out-loud comedy should stay home, but not if they want to see a cute love story debunking some Southern stereotypes. Best of all is the fact that, for once, a Hollywood villain turns out to be a Yankee Democrat. Regrettably, however, there are a couple of homosexual characters and plenty of mostly light foul language in Sweet Home Alabama.
CONTENT: Moral worldview that corrects some Southern stereotypes and, for a welcome change, makes a Yankee Democrat the villain, marred by positive references to homosexuality, which are approached in a light politically correct tone; about 26 mostly light obscenities, three strong profanities and 17 light profanities; some light comic violence such as Southern woman punches snooty Eastern woman; no sex scenes but two homosexual characters; upper male nudity in one scene; alcohol use; smoking; and, lying and issues about divorce.
TUXEDO
RATING: PG-13
STARRING: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jason Isaacs, and Debi Mazar
DIRECTOR: Kevin Donovan
PRODUCERS: Adam Schroeder and John H. Williams
WRITERS: Michael J. Wilson and Michael Leeson
DISTRIBUTOR: DreamWorks
GENRE: Action/Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Teens and Adults
SUMMARY: In Tuxedo, when Jimmy Tong proves that he is the fastest cab driver in New York City, CSA agent Clark Devlin hires him as his chauffeur. When Clark is incapacitated by a bomb, Jimmy fights a ruthless water baron, who wants to corner the world’s water market. Jimmy’s secret weapon is a tuxedo that can turn him into anything from a great dancer to a karate king to an incredible sniper. The villain has developed a water formula that dehydrates people so that his company can corner the lucrative bottled water market.
Tuxedo is filled with good ideas, which are never strung together in a cohesive fashion. The movie was first aimed at children, then transformed into a teen flick in pre-production, and then toned down. Now, the movie is no more than a showcase for Jackie Chan’s stunts. The jeopardy is contrived, and the plot alternates between high-octane action and massive plot holes.
CONTENT: Eclectic worldview with many immoral elements and a moderately moral though anti-capitalism theme; constant action violence including reckless driving, man falling to death, man eating bug, explosions, and martial arts violence complete with kicks to private parts (groin kicks) and many devices (such as ropes) used to maim or hurt with little blood but some gruesome deaths including people dehydrated, shriveled up and turned to dust, drowning under extreme circumstances (bag put over head and filled with dehydrating water); alcohol abuse; drugs suggested; and, lying, impersonation, and greed.
