USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Notting Hill Not Worth It

Notting Hill Not Worth It

WASHINGTON (May 28, 1999) -- The 1-800-311-4CCC movie line reviews Notting Hill for the week of May 28-June 3rd. Also included on the toll-free line is a review of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, this week's suggested home video for family viewing.

The 800 movie review line is a project of the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC).

The May 28-June 3 list includes the following theater releases and their classifications according to moral suitability. Movies are evaluated according to artistic merit and moral suitability by the U.S. Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting.

Notting Hill -- Because of an off-screen sexual encounter, some crude references, occasional profanity and minimal rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Notting Hill is a gauzy romantic comedy in which a Hollywood movie star (played by Julia Roberts) and a timid London bookseller (Hugh Grant) fall in love but he finds himself too intimidated by her fame to pursue the relationship. The contrived crowd-pleaser is long on stunning smiles and sugary sentiment but short on realistic romance.
The Thirteenth Floor -- Because of sporadic nasty violence, some sexual innuendo, intermittent rough language and a few instances of profanity, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. The Thirteenth Floor is a densely plotted sci-fi thriller involving a murder in parallel worlds, including Los Angeles 1937 and the present, with characters slipping between dimensions as they search for one true reality. The convoluted tale plays intriguing mind games with viewers until the weakly constructed climax goes over the top then ends unconvincingly.
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace -- Because of sci-fi swordfights and battle sequences, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-II - adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. The Phantom Menace is a disappointing prequel to the "Star Wars" trilogy in which two Jedi knights (played by Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor) intent on saving the planet Naboo from Federation invaders enlist the help of a young boy who will eventually become the evil Darth Vader. By emphasizing fantastical creatures and myriad special effects, writer-director George Lucas loses much of the movie's human dimension and ends up achieving mostly visual spectacle.
The Winslow Boy -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is G -- general audiences. In The Winslow Boy a 1910 London father (played by Nigel Hawthorne) believes the naval academy has wrongly expelled his 14-year-old son for stealing a five-shilling postal order, so at great cost to his family engages a prominent lawyer (Jeremy Northam) to prove the lad's innocence. The story unfolds through elegant dialogue and a marvelous cast of characters, fine tuning playwright Terence Rattigan's period piece about British justice upholding the rights of a citizen against the power of the state.
The Love Letter -- Because of an off-screen affair, references to a same-sex relationship, fleeting nudity and a few instances of rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-IV, adults, with reservations. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. The Love Letter is a lightweight tale set in a New England village where romantic complications ensue among the residents (including Kate Capshaw, Tom Selleck, Tom Everett Scott and Ellen DeGeneres) when several of them believe they are the intended recipient of an anonymous love letter. The comedy's charms are minor and its resolution weakly dramatized.
This Is My Father -- Because of fleeting violence, a discreet sexual encounter and occasional profanity and rough language, the U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. This Is My Father is a melancholy romance set primarily in 1939 rural Ireland where a vivacious 17-year-old (played by Moya Farrelly) and a dirt-poor 30ish farmer (Aidan Quinn) fall in love, incurring the wrath of her wealthy alcoholic mother, disapproving priests and scornful villagers eventually driving the couple to desperate action. The muted tale explores loneliness and despair against the backdrop of class and religious strictures of the era.

The family video of the week is The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad -- The U.S. Catholic Conference classification is A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, a Disney animated double feature, begins with Basil Rathbone narrating a fanciful adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows," followed by Bing Crosby singing and narrating Washington Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with its spooky Headless Horseman. The slight but enjoyable American tale pales alongside the bouncy, whimsical British children's classic, but the combination is quality family fare.

The classifications are A-I - general patronage; A-II - adults and adolescents; A-III - adults; A-IV - adults, with reservations (an A-IV classification designates problematic films that, while not morally offensive in themselves, require caution and some analysis and explanation as a safeguard against wrong interpretations and false conclusions); O - morally offensive.

The movie reviews are produced by the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC) Office for Film and Broadcasting, which each week provides full length movie reviews, brief capsules and film classifications of new theater releases.

Reviewers include Henry Herx, Director, and Gerri Pare, Associate Director, of the Film and Broadcasting Office, which is funded by the CCC.

The capsule reviews are available on the World Wide Web. They can be found on two sites: http://www.usccb.org and http://www.CatholicDigest.org/stops/movies/index.html.

Full-length reviews of the above and other movies are available through America Online at the Catholic News Service site on AOL, and can be accessed by AOL members using the keyword, "CNS."