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"Bedtime Stories" (PG, 1 hr., 35 min.)

This much-anticipated kids' comedy seems likely to satisfy youngsters 8 and older as well as teen and adult fans of Adam Sandler fans, based on youthful giggles The Family Filmgoer heard at a preview showing. That doesn't mean "Bedtime Stories" is a great film. Its script is a crude mix of sarcasm and sentimentality, and its fantasy sequences are clumsily made and often incomprehensible. There was also much fidgeting during one long scene between adult characters, yet the movie has the Sandler silliness factor that kids seem to crave and it is harmless enough.

There is crude humor, including a gross "booger monster." There are rude names such as "Sir Butt-Kiss" in one of the fantasies. A gag about an angry dwarf manages to be both unfunny and tasteless. An apparently dead man on a beach revives when application of the Heimlich maneuver pops a dead fish out of his throat. An adult character has loud, bizarre nightmares. Other elements include a theme about divorce and how it affects kids. There is a spoof of eco-parents who won't allow kids any junk food, meat or television. There's a comical/magical pet guinea pig with bugged-out eyes that is more creepy than cute. And most important, the baldly contrived, illogical, really stupid finale puts kids in danger.

Sandler plays Skeeter Bronson, chief custodian at a luxury hotel in Los Angeles, which, we learn in the prologue, was once a little motel run by Skeeter's late father (Jonathan Pryce). Though Skeeter's the sort of guy who never grows up, his newly divorced school-principal sister (Courteney Cox) leaves her young daughter (Laura Ann Kesling) and son (Jonathan Morgan Heit) with Skeeter while she flies off to a job interview. To keep his depressed charges entertained, Skeeter makes up stories, and lets the kids turn the plots. The tales start coming true, after a fashion, in Skeeter's real life. Also in real life, the hotel owner Mr. Nottingham (Richard Griffiths) won't promote Skeeter, his Paris Hilton-esque daughter (Teresa Palmer) ignores him, and her boyfriend, the smarmy hotel manager (Guy Pearce), plots against him. Jill (Keri Russell), a friend of Skeeter's sister, enters the picture, very disapproving of Skeeter's baby-sitting style -- at first.

"Marley & Me" (PG, 1 hr., 50 min.)

We begin with a plot spoiler: This generally enjoyable, if undistinguished, adaptation of John Grogan's popular book contains the book's sad ending. Anyone who loves their pets can't avoid being moved by watching a beloved animal companion age, grow ill, be kissed goodbye by its humans and euthanized. The film shows all that. The last quarter of the movie involves the final years of the yellow lab, Marley (who's played by some 22 young and adult dogs over the arc of the film) and how his family faces the prospect of losing him. "Marley & Me" is fine for kids 8 and older, but some parents may want to leave the theater right after Marley recovers from his first old-age illness -- rather than stay to the teary end.

Other elements that earn the PG include a failed pregnancy that causes sadness (an early ultrasound test indicates the fetus has died), occasional mild profanity, adults drinking and, of course, dog poop humor and a neutering joke. There is understated sexual innuendo, implied skinny-dipping, gently implied marital sexual situations, a couple of upsetting marital fights over family responsibilities and stress, and one instance of a violent crime that Marley, with his incredible hearing, senses first. We see a stabbing victim who's not seriously injured, but with some blood.

Owen Wilson lounges his way through the role of John Grogan, whom we meet as a young newspaper reporter. He and his girlfriend Jennifer (Jennifer Aniston), also a newspaper writer, marry and move to big new jobs in Florida. John gets a puppy, in part to take Jennifer's mind off babies, since he is nervous about starting a family. Little does he know what chaos adorable little Marley will wreak over the years, even after they have kids. The pooch grows into a destructive, rambunctious, comically untrainable sweetie pie. And John, who longs to be a hard- bitten news reporter, finds his niche as a columnist, writing about his family's trials and tribulations, and about Marley, furniture-chewing and all.

Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various ages

-- OK FOR KIDS 6 AND OLDER:

"The Tale of Despereaux" G -- This richly imagined animated feature harks back to a purer style of storytelling and ought to entrance kids 6 and older. Adapted from Kate DiCamillo's book, it has bits that could scare under-6s, such as swarming rats cheering for a cat to eat the little mouse hero; the mouse falling into a dungeon, or running a gantlet of mousetraps. These scenes all end safely. The film juggles too many characters, some of whom undergo dizzying personality changes. It's a flaw, but kids will keep up. A rat named Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman) arrives at the charmingly medieval Kingdom of Dor, where soup is an obsession. Drawn to the palace by the aroma, Roscuro falls into the queen's bowl and the lady dies of fright. Chased by guards, Roscuro dives into a dungeon and lands in grim, violent Rat World. Above ground, the grieving king outlaws soup. Behind a wall in the palace kitchen, Despereaux (Matthew Broderick) is born in Mouse World. The undersized cutie with big ears dreams of unmouselike heroism. Despereaux is banished to the dungeon for visiting the sad princess (Emma Watson). There he bonds with Roscuro over the idea of valor. The courage of mouse and rat is soon tested.

-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER:

"Bedtime Stories" PG (NEW) -- This much-anticipated kids' comedy seems likely to satisfy Adam Sandler fans 8 and older, even though the script is a mishmash of sarcasm and sentimentality and the fantasy sequences are clumsy and incomprehensible. It has the Sandler silliness factor that kids seem to crave. Sandler plays Skeeter Bronson, custodian at a luxury hotel in Los Angeles, which, we learn in the prologue, was once a little motel run by his late father. Skeeter's newly divorced school-principal sister (Courteney Cox) leaves her daughter (Laura Ann Kesling) and son (Jonathan Morgan Heit) with her immature, irrepressible brother while she flies off to a job interview. To keep his little charges entertained, Skeeter makes up stories and lets the kids decide plot twists. The tales start coming true, after a fashion, in Skeeter's real life. Also in real life, the hotel owner (Richard Griffiths) won't promote Skeeter and the smarmy hotel manager (Guy Pearce) plots against him. Jill (Keri Russell), a friend of Skeeter's sister, disapproves of his baby-sitting style -- at first. There is crude humor -- a "booger monster" -- and a tasteless gag about a dwarf. The Heimlich maneuver revives a seemingly dead man, popping a fish out of his throat. A pet guinea pig with bulging eyes is more creepy than cute. There is a divorce theme, and a stupid finale puts child characters in danger.

"Marley & Me" PG (NEW) -- SPOILER ALERT: Parents need to know that this generally enjoyable, if undistinguished, adaptation of John Grogan's popular book contains the book's sad ending. Anyone who loves critters will be moved watching a beloved animal companion age, grow ill, be kissed goodbye and euthanized. The film shows all that. "Marley & Me" is fine for kids 8 and older, but some parents might consider leaving the theater soon after Marley recovers from his first old-age illness -- rather than staying to the teary end. Owen Wilson lounges his way through the role of John Grogan. He and his girlfriend Jennifer (Jennifer Aniston) marry and move to good jobs as newspaper writers in Florida. Since he is nervous about starting a family, John gets a puppy to take Jennifer's mind off motherhood. Little does he know what chaos the adorable little yellow lab Marley (played by 22 different dogs throughout the film) will wreak over the years, even after the Grogans have kids. The pooch grows into a destructive, rambunctious, comically untrainable sweetie. Other elements include a failed pregnancy that causes sadness (an ultrasound test indicates the fetus has died), drinking, occasional mild profanity, dog poop humor and a neutering joke. There is implied skinny-dipping, gently implied marital sexual situations, a couple of upsetting marital fights and one instance of an unseen violent crime that Marley senses with his hearing. We then see a stabbing victim who's not seriously injured, but with some blood.

-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (NEW) -- At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this beautifully told saga never feels long. Based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it is an intimate tale with historic sweep. A dying old woman (Cate Blanchett in age makeup) in a New Orleans hospital with Hurricane Katrina blowing outside, has her daughter (Julia Ormond) read aloud from an old diary. As the narrator voice of Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) takes over, the film flashes back to a New Orleans train station clock that runs backward to express the clockmaker's grief over a son lost in World War I. Benjamin Button (mostly played by Pitt, but with other actors for certain ages) is born in 1918. His mother dies in childbirth (bloody sheets shown) and the baby looks like a shriveled old man. His horrified father (Jason Flemyng) nearly drowns the infant, then abandons it on the steps of a New Orleans old folks' home. The childless housekeeper (Taraji P. Henson) there raises the boy, who gets younger-looking as he grows up. We follow Benjamin as he becomes a seafaring man, discovers sex (at a brothel), true love, and realizes how fleeting happiness and life itself are. He meets Daisy when he is a child, but looks like an old man. She's a child herself, so their friendship is forbidden as bizarre. Years later, Daisy (now played by Blanchett) has traveled the world as a ballerina. Their ages and looks coincide enough for them to fall in love -- for a while. There are strongly implied but nonexplicit sexual situations and partial nudity, a harrowing car accident, bodies floating in the ocean after a naval battle and wartime gun deaths. There is occasional profanity, drinking and smoking. Fine for most teens.

"Yes Man" -- There are triumphant moments in this darkly comic parable, but much of it feels like a TV sitcom trying too hard to be edgy. The wit feels strained and teens may sense that. Jim Carrey plays Carl, a divorced man so despondent he says "no" to all social invitations and even to all loan applications at the bank where he works. Then Carl attends a motivational seminar. The speaker (Terence Stamp) gets him to commit to saying "yes" to everything. Carrey shows a touching mix of tears and joy in that moment. Then he gives a homeless man a lift, which leads him to meet Allison (Zooey Deschanel), who sings in a band. He says "yes" to Korean lessons, flying lessons, guitar lessons and more. There is drinking, midrange profanity, and a strongly implied sexual situation involving Carl and an elderly woman that instantly makes the film problematic for middle-schoolers. There is milder sexual innuendo, a bar fight, a suicide theme, and a car crash. More for high-schoolers.

"Seven Pounds" -- Teens who are moved by altruism may be drawn to "Seven Pounds," but they'll have to overlook the clumsy manipulation and syrupy glaze director Gabriele Muccino ("The Pursuit of Happyness," PG-13, 2006) pours over everything. Will Smith, looking desolate, stars as tax man Ben Thomas. Ben, who seems to have a tragedy in his past and an agenda for the future, seeks out people to help who have problems in their lives and who also owe the government money. There's the blind salesman (Woody Harrelson), the abused wife (Elpidia Carrillo), the young cancer patient (Quintin Kelley) and, most especially, Emily (Rosario Dawson), who needs a heart transplant. This story couldn't be more predictable. There is rare profanity, a gently implied sexual situation, a strong suicide theme and nongraphic flashbacks to a fatal car accident. Mature teens.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" -- If teens want a chilling sci-fi experience, they should skip this poorly conceived remake and get ahold of the simple, scary 1951 version. In the original film, a spaceship landed in Washington, D.C., and the humanoid Klaatu emerged to warn earthlings to stop making war or face obliteration. In 1951, with the Cold War and nuclear weapons testing, it hit home. In the remake, the "spaceship" is an enormous glowing sphere that lands in New York's Central Park, and Klaatu sheds a weird outer layer before taking on the form of star Keanu Reeves. Yet the effects-laden new version is incoherent, with little sense that anything's really at stake. One good thing: Klaatu's robot is way cooler in its zapping powers. People are hurt or killed in a few scenes with some blood, and there is a surgical incision. There are many nongraphic images of destruction. The idea of wiping out humanity could scare preteens.

"Nothing Like the Holidays" -- A hugely talented cast of Latino actors and a script full of cultural touch points lifts this family-at-Christmas story well above its cliches. We meet the Rodriguez clan of Chicago, led by patriarch Edy (Alfred Molina) and matriarch Anna (Elizabeth Pena). Their soldier son Jesse (Freddy Rodriguez) is just back from Iraq and their lawyer son Mauricio (John Leguizamo) tries to make his parents reconcile after Anna announces she's divorcing Edy. Mauricio's wife (Debra Messing), the only outsider, tries to bond with her prickly mother-in-law. The film contains midrange profanity, sexual innuendo, a threat of gang violence, a fistfight, drinking and implied marijuana use. OK for teens.

"Doubt" (LIMITED RELEASE) -- High-schoolers who like stories with moral complexity could be pulled into the world of "Doubt." There's just one barnyard curse word and no sex scenes, but the theme is mature. Meryl Streep aces her role as Sister Aloysius, the prickly, principal of a Catholic grammar school in the Bronx, circa 1964. She suspects a new priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) of molesting (though the word is never used) an altar boy (Joseph Foster), the only African-American child in the school, under the guise of befriending him. With a naive young nun (Amy Adams) in her corner, Sister Aloysius confronts the priest, who denies it utterly and a battle of wills ensues. There is mention of the boy's father beating him. Priests smoke and drink, and a boy briefly smokes.

"Four Christmases" -- It's hard to imagine teen audiences liking this sour comedy about a smug couple forced to visit families they can't stand. Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon), both children of divorce, take luxury trips at Christmas to avoid their families. When their flight is canceled and their parents see them on a news story about airport delays, they're trapped. The compulsory visits include Brad's cynical dad (Robert Duvall) and macho siblings (Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw), and Kate's ultra-pious mom (Mary Steenburgen). Add baby spit-up jokes and "Four Christmases" feels like eight. There is sexual innuendo, profanity, smoking, drinking, homophobic humor and a marijuana joke. Not so much for middle-schoolers.

"Twilight" -- Teens who love Stephanie Meyer's vampire books will find much to swoon over in this moody adaptation of the first novel. The Goth-inspired bloodsuckers strike too many fashion-magazine poses and the story verges on silliness at times, but more often "Twilight" is a poignant, occasionally thrilling meditation on the struggle between desire and restraint, love and sacrifice. Bella (Kristen Stewart) is attracted to her pale, sullen high-school classmate, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and learns he is a vampire. His "family" never drinks human blood, but Edward fears his passion for Bella will weaken his willpower. There is understated sexual innuendo and one kiss. A final battle against rogue vampires involves blood, but is more about gravity-defying martial arts. Other vampire attacks are very understated.

-- R's:

"Cadillac Records" (LIMITED RELEASE) -- Bristling with music and attitude, this terrific fact-based film about the roots of rock 'n' roll ought to enthrall high-schoolers. Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) opens a club in Chicago in the late 1940s. He makes a record with Muddy Waters (wonderful Jeffrey Wright), a one-time Mississippi field hand who sings and plays blues guitar. Soon Chess Records is using harmonica virtuoso Little Walter (Columbus Short), songwriter Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), blues man Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry (Mos Def), and blues singer Etta James (Beyonce Knowles who sings and acts at a new level). The landscape of American music shifts. The film includes profanity, racial slurs, fairly explicit sexual situations, partial nudity, occasional violence, drug use, drinking and smoking.

"Frost/Nixon" (LIMITED RELEASE) -- High-schoolers who love history and politics may judge this pretty fascinating stuff; others will yawn. Adapted from a hit play, the film imagines what went into the making of a series of 1977 TV interviews in which slick talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) questioned the disgraced former president, Richard Nixon (Frank Langella, jowly, deep-voiced, but not mimicking), trying to get him to admit guilt in the Watergate scandal. Director Ron Howard has turned the play into a high-class docudrama. The film has strong profanity, brief graphic footage of Cambodian victims of American bombing, smoking, drinking and sexual innuendo.

(c) 2008, Washington Post Writers Group.

This news arrived on: 12/24/2008

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