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Trying to find a non-offending PG or G rated film for a Movie night (1 Viewer)

Michael Silla

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 27, 2001
Messages
313
Do any of you have any suggestions?. I am going to have a movie night at my place in a couple of weeks. My guests will want to see a film with very little violence or sexual content. At the same time I don't want to have to watch cartoons all night ;).
I think the best bet would be a lighthearted comedy but I really can't think of one that will do. I actually thought "Bedazzled" would be a good choice but that movie actually would cross the line.
To be even more picky, I want to see a movie that perhaps not everyone has had a chance to see. Plus, I wanted the movie to really make my HT shine.
Thanks in advance to all that reply.
Michael.
 

Mark Pfeiffer

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 27, 1999
Messages
1,339
Return To Me with David Duchovny and Minnie Driver sounds like what you're looking for. It fits all your criteria except for being HT demo material, which is to be expected since it's a romantic comedy.
 

Jeff Bamberger

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 15, 1999
Messages
495
How about The Sound of Music 5-Star....Great DVD and extras.....

Or Wizard of OZ. Everyone loves that movie.

Or Field of Dreams

Or 2001

Or....on and on.....lots to choose from......
 

SteveK

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 10, 2000
Messages
518
Michael- You have some tough criteria there. But I'm sure there's many DVDs that will do just fine. Do you enjoy a lot of music in your films? Try "The Songcatcher". It's a story about a university musicologist who travels to the Appalachians and is astounded to hear a folk song that she recognizes as a Scottish tune. This sets her on a quest to collect other folk music from the area. There's a lot of great music in it (if you enjoy Appalachian folk music) and a lot of very nice scenery. For extras, there is a director's commentary (which appropriately focuses more on the music than then movie), some extended versions of some of the songs in the movie and some (too brief) excerpts of interviews with the stars of the film, some of whom sound quite knowledgeable on the subject. It's a small independent production that is quite enjoyable.

You indicated you didn't want to watch cartoons all evening, but you might want to throw in some of the short features on either "Silly Symphonies" or "Mickey Mouse in Color" from Walt Disney Treasures. They're not feature length cartoons, so you won't have to spend the whole evening showing them if you don't want to.

If you enjoy musicals with a twist, what about "Moulin Rouge"? There might be a few objectionable elements to it (depending on how conservative your guests are), but it is certainly a treat for the eyes and ears.

I'm sure other members will have a lengthy list for you to consider, so you shouldn't have any problem coming up with one or more films that meet all of your criteria. Let us know what you decide on and how it all turns out.

Enjoy!

Steve K.
 

Scott_MacD

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 13, 2001
Messages
760
Toy Story - animated film, not a cartoon..! (hate it when people call these superbly written and crafted movies "cartoons".)
North by Northwest and Rear Window - the ultimate Hitchcock movies, and tasteful.
The Princess Bride - Enough said.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The Third Man - delightful and dark film-noir.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - martial arts violence? I say visual poetry.
Goldfinger
Groundhog Day
The Truman Show
Pleasantville
Edward Scissorhands- I can't imagine these five offending people too much.
 

Chris Brunner

Second Unit
Joined
May 9, 1999
Messages
444
Okay, so you don't want to watch cartoons ALL night....

But if you can just spare 87 minutes... The Iron Giant is the right thing to do.

Incredible sound & picture.
Wonderfully touching story.
Funny.
They probably haven't seen it.

I had some adult friends over who thought I was a loony for putting on a "cartoon" when they arrived. Needless to say, they were very entertained. Afterwards, they commented to me how great it was. That was without any prodding from me.

C
 

Bryan Tuck

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
1,981
Real Name
Bryan Tuck
Michael-
The first one I would think of is Galaxy Quest. Of course, it's funnier if you know Star Trek pretty well, but several of my friends who are not Trek fans (or even big sci-fi fans) liked it a lot, too. It's basically Three Amigos in space.
There's some mild language here and there and a little space action violence (milder than Star Wars, actually), but other than that, it's pretty clean. And it's got a fairly aggressive soundtrack, too :)
Other possibilities:
Remember the Titans
The Princess Bride
Innerspace (mild sexual insinuation in that one)
October Sky
Superman
Rudy
Hoosiers (not great HT demo material, but a terrific movie)
Hope that helps some.
 

Michael Silla

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 27, 2001
Messages
313
Bryan,
That you for reminding me of October Sky!. I loved that movie and I am sure my guests would too. I have seen Galaxy Quest and uh, I am not a *huge* fan of the movie ;).
Chris,
I'm going to check Iron Giant out. I have vague memory of seeing this at Blockbuster.
Scott,
The Princess Bride and Pleasantville sound good to me although I suspect most everyone has seen the Princess Bride a time or two. I really digged Pleasantville.
Steve,
I have been curious about Moulin Rouge but have been "scared off" becuase it is a musical. Usually I am not into those types of movies (with rare exception).
Mark,
Return to me - Heck no. I have to watch the film too! ;). Kidding aside, I think every single lady that will be there that night owns a copy of the movie.
KEEP THOSE SUGGESTIONS COMING!.
Michael.
 

BrianB

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2000
Messages
5,205
Moulin Rouge may not fit this:

My guests will want to see a film with very little violence or sexual content
Although there is no graphical nudity, there is a LOT of suggestive stuff in the film. I love the film, but it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea. It's not "tame".
 

Julie K

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 1, 2000
Messages
1,962
Forgotten Silver - a delightful film from Peter Jackson. It's lighthearted and hilarious, but at the same time quite touching. There is brief nudity, but it was shown on broadcast TV in New Zealand. US rules are stricter, obviously, but there is nothing offensive or even sexual about the scene.
 

John Spencer

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 2, 2000
Messages
857
The Road Home and The Straight Story
It might be hard to find the first, but they both contain zero language or violence, and are both incredibly good movies. Not really demo material, but quite active soundfields.
 

Scott Kimball

Screenwriter
Joined
May 8, 2000
Messages
1,500
Some films that may meet your criteria:

Benny & Joon
Gattaca
Iron Giant
My Dog Skip
Shakespeare in Love
Sneakers
Superman: The Movie

-Scott
 

Bob Graham

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 11, 2001
Messages
585
Real Name
Bob Graham
Michael,

Tell me a little bit about your intended audience. Adults? Kids? How tolerant/interested are they in movies made before 2000? (I have 2 teen age daughters: one enjoys "the classics-Marx Brothers, Chaplin--while one considers anything less than the latest releases "old").

Off the yop of my head, I recommend 2 great star-driven comedies: THE COURT JESTER with Danny Kaye and THE PALEFACE with Bob Hope. Both are genuinely funny and non-offensive (although one of the plot points of TCJ involves Kaye being put under the spell of a "witch"--given some of the criticisms recently by some groups against Harry Potter, I feel it's only fair to point this out).
 

JeffMuller

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Apr 18, 2000
Messages
183
Amadeus
Doctor Zhivago (but it's long)
Pop in a few scenes from Fantasia
The Red Violin
When Harry Met Sally
Willy Wonka (Widescreen)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (not so much demo material, but great flick)
Willow (haven't seen the new DVD, but great flick)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (great video quality, contains violence, but it's more like ballet, you gotta like subtitles, though -- OK, so there's an English language track, but YUCK)
That's all I can think of, for now. Of course, there are lots of excellent animated titles, too.
 

Andrew Chong

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 7, 2002
Messages
739
'The Princess Bride'
Swashbuckling and Andre the Giant for the guys.
Romance for the gals (and guys).

Edit: Whoops! Sorry, already mentioned numerous times (the one time i forget to search and the search term appears more than zero times). In that case, consider my original post a vote for this movie.
 

Edwin-S

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2000
Messages
10,000
How about:
Cast Away
Apollo 13
It's a Mad,Mad,Mad World
Kate and Leopold (pretty silly,though)
Bridget Jones's Diary
When you say no sexual content, do you mean implied as well as explicit? If you don't mind watching the odd older black and white film, check out "THE APARTMENT". It is a comedy. The only thing is it revolves around a guy trying to get ahead by letting his cheating bosses use his apartment.
 

LarryEB

Auditioning
Joined
Jun 12, 2002
Messages
2
How about:
Lagaan
Moustache twirling villain, sweeping vistas, great song
and dance numbers, exciting sports match, and an Oscar
nomination. Your guests will probably never have seen
anything quite like it. But they will have to read
subtitles.
 

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