By Jim Silver
As a parent of three children, one of our favorite family activities is going to the movies. When the kids were younger, choosing what movies to see was pretty easy; we only took them to G-rated films.
As our kids got a little older, things became a little more complicated. We introduced PG films into the repertoire, but we wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be any nightmares after seeing a film. When they get a little older it’s a little tougher: what PG-13 movies are appropriate for kids to see? I was always shocked and amazed to see the movies parents brought there kids to see. I even “messed up” once bringing my two oldest kids to see Austin Powers in Goldmember when they were 11 and12 (I took a lot of grief from my wife for that one, although, in my defense, almost every other kid in their classes also saw it.)
What movies did my kids like when they were younger? Almost everything we took them to. Not until they reached they age of 10 did they discriminate and start to really compare films. And some of those films we had to sit through were just plain torture for a parent.
Unfortunately, there weren’t too many places that I knew of to find reviews with the information I wanted. I didn’t care if it was a great screenplay, didn’t care about the cinematography, or costume design. I wanted reviews that told me whether my kids would like the film, what age and gender would like it better, and, as a parent do I need my iPod in the theater as distraction. Also, I wanted to know if there was content that a parent might find objectionable.
With that in mind, we have started reviewing action figures from movies that will hopefully answer all of these questions in short, concise reviews with a respected movie critic, Cynthia Fuchs, who understands what parents are looking for in a film. We hope this makes choosing what movies to take your kids to a whole lot simpler.