“Finding Entertainment Appropriate for Kids,” or FEAK, runs every Friday and discusses places – mainly the movie theaters – where parents can look to find things for their kids to watch over the weekend.
The weekend of the Super Bowl is usually very light when it comes to movie releases. The idea is that you and your family will be all wrapped up in the game and parties and stuff and therefore too busy to head out to the theaters.
So, there are only two wide releases this weekend: “From Paris With Love,” an R-rated action film with John Travolta and “Dear John,” a PG-13 rated romantic comedy from the writer of “The Notebook.”
We won’t be touching on the R-rated film, but the PG-13 one seems to have people talking. Some people even think it might beat “Avatar” at the box office this weekend.
But is “Dear John” any good? And more importantly, is it appropriate for kids?
Well, as anyone can tell from the title, the film probably doesn’t have a happy ending. Before that, though, it does center around the whirlwind relationship between a young girl, played by Amanda Seyfried and a hot-headed solider, played by Channing Tatum. When the solider goes back to war, the two exchange love letters to further their relationship.
All of this seems fairly appropriate, except that there are some themes of love, loss and war that younger kids might find objectionable – hence the PG-13 rating for “some sensuality and violence. “
The bigger problem might be keeping the kids awake, though
“USA Today” describes once montage of letter sending as an example of the movie overall. “The sight of stamped envelopes being sorted hardly makes the pulse race. Its ideal purpose would be as a sleep aid.”
The “LA Times” tends to agree that “there’s no real depth or texture to the characters of any sort, sentimental or otherwise, and I say that as someone who can be brought to tears by a Hallmark commercial.”
But the “NY Daily News” looks on the opposite side of that coin. “If you’re just hoping for a little easy escapism, bring your tissues and leave your high standards at home.”
