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

[Chris Brunner]

Michael,
Now that everybody's involved, you have to let us know how it went. Looking forward to hearing your results!
C

 

[Brent Avery]

Looking at the suggestions of other forum members there are some very good choices but I thought that I should give a short list of movies that are entertaining by having a very good human interest element in that the characters are developed within a story that is appealing and ultimatley are heart warming in that they have a feel good ending and offer no or very tolerable 'action' scenes, if any.

1. It Could Happen To You.
Stars Bridgette Fonda as a waitress and Nicolas Cage as an honest and good natured NYC police officer who buys a lottery ticket for his materialistic wife and promises Bridgette half of what he might win. I'll just say it is a very good story (based on a true incident) 1994

2. Man From Snowy River
A very good Australian adventure film that deals with a rancher ( Kirk Douglas ) who also doubles as an unwanted twin brother. A young man steals his daughter's heart etc. 1982

3. Lagaan
Already mentioned and a very well done film from India that takes place during the British occupation in 1893. Subtitled but the movie is so well done (very catchy songs and music with fantastic audio) that it won't even bother you. 2001

4. Forever Young
Stars Mel Gibson, a young Elijah Wood, and Jamie Lee Curtis. An excellent story involving Gibson as a test pilot in 1939 wwho thinks he has lost his fiance in a car accident (pedestrian) and while she's in a coma for a time decides to be cryogenicaly frozen. If you havn't seen it make a point to try even if for yourself, a heartwarming story. 1992

5. Paulie
About a fully talking parrot and the little girl he is trying to find after he is taken away and they move. You'll have to see the movie but it is well done. 1998

6. A Little Princess
Involves a little girl and her father who is well off but goes to war and suffers amnesia in a gas attack (very little of the war in the movie-WW1) and she is left in the care of an exclusive girls school that is run by a less than charitable woman. When the money runs out because her father is missing-his assets are frozen- she is forced to work for the women in charge. Another great movie anyone with an eye for an emotionally satisfying movie will enjoy.

7. Matilda
Danny DeVito stars in and narrates this story about a girl who doesn't fit in with her family. It's quite funny and although the school principal- a rather imposing character named Miss Trunchbull- has nothing good to say about the children at her school (children!- glad I was never one!) it is very watchable. 1997 (full frame only)

8. Mother
Albert Brooks wrote and stars in this film about a man who writes for a living but feels his life is a failure and that his mother may have something to do with it (played by Debbie Reynolds) so he moves back home to try to 'rediscover' himself. Very funny

9. Baby's Day Out
About a baby that is kidnapped for ransom by three inept individuals (small time crooks) and the antics that insue when the baby literally crawls away and their desperate attempts to get the baby back . It kept me laughing. Consists of a lot of 'slapstick violence'- harmless enough.


There are a few to think about, if anything you can always look at them on your own.

 

[Joe Acevedo]

I never realize how offending the movies I watch are, until I watch them with someone like my girlfriends Grandma and Aunt. We watched Office Space and it never occurred to us how much swearing there is in that movie (Even though we quote it all the time). They didn't get it at all.

We also watched Legally Blonde and Harry Potter. Both seemed to go over much better.

 

[Michael Silla]

Joe,
I understand what you mean . Office Space is one of my favorites too but WAAAY to much for this audience!.
Chris and everyone,
I'm having my guests over on the 29th (a Monday). I'll let you all know how it goes!.
Brent, Darrel and others
Thank you for taking the time to make your lists. I totally forgot about Uncle Buck - that puppy is a classic!. Is it available on DVD yet?.
I talked to a friend about Pleasantville and totally forgot about some of the themes dealt with in that movie (My memories of the movie were...well....Pleasant ).
So of the movies that I are making my final list
Castaway ( If only to see Tom Hanks cry out for Wilson )
Apollo 13 ( Thanks guys, I forgot about this one)
Contact (Another good choice)
Groundhog Day - Which reminds me of another Bill Murray film, Quick Change. Does anyone remember if that film had any excessive language in it?. It is available on DVD?.
The Abyss - Haven't seen this one - I'll check it out.
Meet the Parents - I wish I could show this one. For some it may cross the line.
Lagaan - I will see if I can find this film and check it out this weekend.
Peter, I want to check out Babette's Feast. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere here in Salt Lake.
Thanks to you all - You all are super!.
Michael.

 

[Darrel Johansen]

Yes, Uncle Buck is on DVD. Check my Profiler link below. Great movie, but the DVD is dark and grainy. Not a good showcase for your HT. Glad to see so many mention Groundhog Day and Contact. Both excellent DVDs in my collection that have provided many enjoyable viewings.

...Off to search for Lagaan. I also thank everyone for the tips.

As for some foreign films, CTHD was mentioned, but there are some good Chinese films out. One I especially liked was Not One Less. No violence or language --just a great story and a peek into rural and urban China that is a real treat.

 

[DaveF]

Great list of movies! I didn't notice "Babe" and "Babe: Pig in the City". "Babe" especially is a great movie, both for adults and kids.
Others that are pretty good and pretty clean:
"Zorro" (the recent version with Antonio Banderas)
"O Brother Where Art Thou" -- offensive language from main character, but that's about it
"UHF" - Weird Al classic
"A.I." - not to everyone's taste, but is clean
"Dark City" - some violence and female nudity, but a very good movie
All Disney & Pixar animations (except maybe Hunchback)
"Unbreakable" - I think this is mostly clean. Some violence shown and suggested
"Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" - Excellent!
I look forward to going through everyone's suggestions more carefully later

 

[GlennH]

You can check at www.screenit.com for detailed information on the content of movies. Not everything is there, but a lot are. Sometimes it's surprising to see what is actually in movies you remember as being pretty tame.

 

[Scott Shanks]

Michael,
Quick Change is not available on DVD, yet.

 

[Shane Evers]

Michael,

I'm going to assume from your request and location that your audience is of the LDS faith. That being said, my sister-in-law is a devout LDS and she enjoyed The Musketeer. I too enjoyed this movie, I mentioned my sister-in-law to give you a frame of referance, as I don't pay too much attention to the 'harshness' of the content of most movies.

 

[Matt Stone]

I second October Sky...a great film.

 

[Nicholas Vargo]

If you want to try a movie, you should try "Stay Tuned". Not only is it rated PG and availible on DVD, the DVD gives off great picture quality and one heck of a sound mix. It is definatly a movie that a lot of people havn't seen, but if you don't have it, you can buy it cheap. I bought my copy for only $11.99, so it is pretty cheap almost anywhere. Give it a try for you and your guests.

 

[Nathan V]

Butch Cassidy. GREAT script, rated PG for mild violence.
Last of the Mohicans- already mentioned, but worth mentioning again. Mann's direction is flawless. Although it is rated R, it's about as tame as an R can be.
Chariots of Fire
Ben-Hur
The Great Escape
Requiem for a Dream

(That last one was a joke)

 

[Dave Hahn]

The Mask of Zorro
It's been my personal experience that this movie appeals to all audiences, young and old. Everyone seems to like this movie. It's an action movie with little actual violence and no gore. There's romance, but no sex or nudity. It has big stars like Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas. Lastly, the big action scenes will, " . . . really make your HT shine!"

 

[Reginald Trent]

Many of the films previously mentioned have questionable language and or sex related situations.

So...........

1.REMEMBER THE TITANS
2.MEN OF HONOR
3.ROUND MIDNIGHT
4.COOL RUNNINGS
5.SPY KIDS

 

[george kaplan]

It might also be for the four-letter word when they jump off the cliff.

 

[Dwayne]

You might want to try "Defending Your Life". Very funny and entertaining film starring Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep.

 

[Michael Silla]

Hey Folks,
Thanks you all again for your selections. I am truly grateful to all those who took the time to write their suggestions. We ended up watching a film called "The Road Home"(1998). It stars Zhang Ziyi in her first feature film. Some scenes were rendered stunningly. The shots of the different seasons and weather looked simply amazing, especially the Fall season. Although it didn't go unnoticed, the relative lack of audio was not as big of a problem as I thought it might be. The whole movie is in Mandarin which again didn't really end up bother my guests.
Michael.
P.S. The back up movie was "Galaxy Quest."

 

[SteveK]

Michael- "The Road Home" was an excellent choice, as it certainly met all of your criteria, including not being seen by a lot of people. Perhaps it's not as much of a showpiece as other films, but it shows that good movies can be made that don't rely on special effects and loud explosions. And your guests were treated to a subtitled film...which seems to be an unusual experience to many people.

Good choice!

Steve K.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

It appears that I am too late to suggest The Hunt For Red October -- it has exactly one swear word (the s-word, used to great comic effect), and only three onscreen deaths, none of which are bloody. (One person is pushed backwards onto a table, breaking his neck, and another is shot, but you just hear the bullets while viewing a closeup of his face, and the third person who is shot gets it off-camera and slumps into the frame.) And does it ever sound great! Dunno how the DVD is, but my old THX LD of it rocks.

 

[Jimmy Nugent]

I recently screened my copy of Criterion's The Importance of Being Earnest and laughed my generous backside off. witty dialog, wonderful pacing and great acting. Highly recommended! I'd also like to suggest Amelie -a wonderful fairy-tale of a movie. If neither of those floats your proverbial boat, try O' Brother, Where Art Thou -Hey! give your party some punch and try to pick out all the Homer references! Hours of thigh-slappin' entertainment!
If worse comes to worse, you could always try and track down a copy of Salo...
Jimmy