Synopses & Reviews
The wire-thin line that separates movies rated PG and R has been crossed over so many times in both directions that industry observers are questioning whether the rating system carries any validity at all. As a movie reviewer for more than thirty years and as a watchful, caretaker parent author Chris Hicks learned pretty quickly that Hollywood movers and shakers like to “push the envelope,” as they put it, and it doesnt seem to matter whether its a childrens film or an adult movie. Its not just R-rated movies that are troubling. PG-13s and even PGs can also be problematic. And sometimes worse than problematic. Simply put, relying on the Motion Picture Association of America to make choices for you or your children is a mistake.
Breaking down the history of the film rating system and exploring todays ratings confusion and quagmire, Hicks provides valuable information to help parents know how to interpret and what to expect from todays movies.
Synopsis
30-year movie reviewer Chris Hicks explores the history of the movie rating system, the inconsistency in the ratings, and shares advice on how to make better choices in your familys movie entertainment.
About the Author
Chris Hicks has been writing about movies for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City for more than thirty years, and during that time also spent thirteen years reviewing films for KSL TV and radio. Now retired, he continues to write a weekly entertainment column and home-video reviews for the Deseret News. Chris and his wife Joyce live in Holladay, Utah, and have a combined family of twelve children and thirty-plus grandchildren, all of whom love movies.
Table of Contents
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Hollywood Censors Itself
The MPAA and CARA respond to criticisms
Are R ratings always deserved?
PG-13 rapidly becomes R-Lite
The PG rating, an endangered species
The G Rating, on the verge of extinction
After two decades CARA attempts to explain itself
Filmmakers and studios — what in the world are they thinking?
Traversing the Hollywood morass
Hollywood still makes good movies in spite of itself
The future of movies is not all downhill