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"Fired Up" (PG-13, 1 hr., 34 min.)

Two girl-crazy high-school football players (Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen) sign up for cheerleader camp instead of football camp in hopes of scoring more than touchdowns in this crass, marginally diverting comedy -- yet another in which the actors look (and indeed are) a good 10 years too old to be in high school. Shawn (D'Agosto), the lesser lothario of the two, finds himself more than attracted to the cheerleader captain Carly (Sarah Roemer), but her bullying, unfaithful college boyfriend (David Walton) is an obstacle.

The one truly funny moment in "Fired Up" occurs well after the point at which we know the film won't add up to much: The entire cheerleading camp, probably a few hundred teens and counselors, watches "Bring It On" (PG-13, 2000), the hit cheerleading movie with Kirsten Dunst. The campers recite all the lines right along with the actors. It's a sweet interval that opens a little window into the attraction cheerleading holds for so many kids -- the mix of sport, dance, competition and risk. Too bad the rest of the film doesn't carry on in the same vein, but is just a standard-issue teen sex comedy.

Without all the sexual innuendo, breast jokes and gay (sometimes homophobic) humor in "Fired Up," the movie would be about 10 minutes long. There are implied nongraphic sexual situations, implied nudity, actual bare behinds, profanity, sexual slang, and hints of beer drinking. All this adds up to an iffy choice for middle-schoolers.

"Fanboys" (PG-13, LIMITED RELEASE, 1 hr., 30 min.)

This long-awaited film is part lewd road-trip farce and part valentine to "Star Wars" geeks -- those guys who know every scrap of trivia about the six live-action "Star Wars" films, while other aspects of their lives (i.e. romance and career) languish. The movie could have used more geekiness and less crassness to set itself apart, but it has some mighty droll moments. It is too lewd, however, to recommend for under-16s without parental OKs.

Set in 1998 (when the original script was first written; it took a while to get this movie made), "Fanboys" follows the adventures of four Midwestern guys recently out of high school: Eric (Sam Huntington) is the one with a job, though it's at his dad's (Christopher McDonald) car dealership; Hutch (Dan Fogler), a sex-and-"Star Wars" crazed slacker, works out of his garage; Windows (Jay Baruchel), a bespectacled nerd, longs for romance; and somber Linus (Chris Marquette), who is terminally ill. On a kind of vision quest, the four pile into a van and head west. They intend to steal a print of the yet-to-be-released "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (PG, 1999) from director George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in California. It's been 16 years since "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (PG, 1983), and the friends want Linus to see Lucas' latest. Along the way, they battle "Star Trek" fans (i.e. Trekkers), escape an angry pimp (Seth Rogen) in Las Vegas, and encounter celebs in amusing cameos (William Shatner, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams among them). Zoe (Kristen Bell), a female pal, bails the guys out of jail.

Crass and bawdy, "Fanboys" could be a mild R for its crude verbal and visual sexual innuendo and sexual language, nonexplicit sexual situations, implied toplessness and partial undress, homophobic humor, profanity, hallucinogenic drug use, and jokes about masturbation, tampons and testicles. There's a thankfully understated subplot about one guy's online romance with a "woman" who turns out to be 10 years old.

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Beyond the Ratings Game: Movie Reviews for various ages

-- OK FOR KIDS 8 AND OLDER

"Coraline" PG -- Director Henry Selick's brilliant stop-motion animated film is exciting fare for kids 8 and older who love scary fairy tales -- a work of gorgeous, funny-frightening complexity. The film was shot in 3-D and is worth seeing in that format. However, easily spooked children as old as 12 may find the second half upsetting. After all, it's about a little girl who enters a menacing through-the-looking-glass world and nearly loses her parents. Coraline (voice of Dakota Fanning) lives in a ramshackle apartment with her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman), both writers who have no time for her. One night, she follows an acrobat neighbor's (Ian McShane) performing mice through a little door and into a place that looks like home, only brighter, with her parents acting all cheery. But Other Mother and Other Father have buttons for eyes and want to replace Coraline's eyes, too. She must escape. Everything in this surreal world transforms in unsettling ways. The film includes a few crass words and shows lady acrobats in scanty costumes. It does end happily.

"The Pink Panther 2" PG -- This movie will tickle those who love pure silliness, and it's a vast improvement over Steve Martin's first attempt ("The Pink Panther," PG, 2006) to update the 1960s and '70s Inspector Clouseau comedies. This time, the bumbling Paris cop joins a team investigating major thefts, including the Pink Panther diamond. In a lovely sequence, Clouseau skulks clumsily outside a mansion, his pratfalls captured soundlessly on security cameras in a nod to silent film comedies. He also tumbles off the pope's balcony, dressed in papal robes, yet the scene seems inoffensive. There is much semi-bawdy sexual innuendo, some of it verbal ("foreplay") and some of it focusing on cleavages and derrieres. There are mild ethnic insults.

"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" PG -- Comic Kevin James brings a lovely mix of heart and innocence to the title role in this amusing family comedy about a buffoonish shopping-mall security guard who scoots around on a Segway, trying to look like a real cop. When a gang of robbers takes hostages in the mall, Paul tries to foil them solo. Kids under 10 may be upset when the bad guys threaten to kill hostages. There is gunfire and an explosion. Paul's daughter (Raini Rodriguez) is put in danger. It's implied that Paul's Segway hits a dog. We see the back of a shopper's bra as she beats Paul up. He gets drunk, and we see a tattoo on his bottom. There is mild sexual innuendo and swearing.

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-- OK FOR 10 AND OLDER:

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" PG -- The credit-card-maxing habits of Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), the dizzy, addicted shopper of the title, are fun to watch. She thinks store mannequins talk to her. Then the pallid romantic plot kicks in, and the comedy congeals. Luke (Hugh Dancy), the ever-so-cute editor of a finance magazine, hires Rebecca to write about saving money. He knows nothing of her $16,000 credit-card debt or that Rebecca's friend (excellent Krysten Ritter) has enrolled her in a 12-step program for shopaholics. Likely to entertain kids (mostly girls) 10 and older, the film (based on novels by Sophie Kinsella) shows that shopping addiction is real and spending more than you have is bad, yet it also revels in the designer stuff Rebecca buys. There is mild sexual innuendo, a joke about a statue's penis, and characters get drunk.

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-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:

"Fired Up" (NEW) -- Two girl-crazy high-school football players (Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen) sign up for cheerleading camp instead of football, hoping to score more than touchdowns in this crass, marginally diverting comedy. Without all the sexual innuendo, breast jokes and gay (sometimes homophobic) humor in "Fired Up," the movie would be about 10 minutes long. There are implied nongraphic sexual situations, implied nudity, actual bare behinds, profanity, sexual slang, and implied beer drinking. Shawn (D'Agosto), the less cynical of the two lotharios, is drawn to cheerleader Carly (Sarah Roemer), but her bullying college boyfriend (David Walton) is a threat. Only once does "Fired Up" actually show a spark -- a scene in which all the cheerleaders at the camp watch "Bring It On" (PG-13, 2000), the hit cheerleading movie with Kirsten Dunst. They repeat all the lines from memory along with the actors on-screen. Too bad the rest of the film isn't as witty. Too crude for middle-schoolers.

"Fanboys" (NEW; LIMITED RELEASE) -- This long-awaited film is part crass road-trip comedy and part valentine to "Star Wars" geeks. It could have used more geekiness and less crass-itude, but it's often mighty droll. It is 1998. Four guys recently out of high school -- Eric (Sam Huntington), who works at his dad's (Christopher McDonald) car dealership; Hutch (Dan Fogler), a sex-and-"Star Wars"-crazed slacker; Windows (Jay Baruchel), a shy nerd; and somber Linus (Chris Marquette), who is terminally ill -- pile into a van and head west. They intend to break into director George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in California and steal a print of the yet-to-be-released "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" (PG, 1999). It's been 16 years since the last film ("Star Wars: Episode VI -- Return of the Jedi," PG, 1983), and they want Linus to see the new one. On the way, they battle "Star Trek" fans, escape an angry pimp (Seth Rogen) in Las Vegas, and meet celebs in amusing cameos (William Shatner, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams). "Fanboys" could be rated R, with its overabundance of crude sexual innuendo and slang, jokes about masturbation, tampons and testicles, homophobic humor and implied toplessness. There are also nongraphic sexual situations, profanity, hallucinogenic drugs and toilet humor. A thankfully understated subplot involves Windows' online romance with a female who turns out to be 10 years old. Too crude for 16 and older without parental OK.

"Push" -- High-schoolers into science-fiction thrillers may find "Push" very cool. Even with American stars, it feels like a Hong Kong action flick, with bright, jumpy visuals, eccentric characters, and "hey there, cupcake!" dialogue that rings smartly film-noir. The story, alas, gets tied up in knots. Operatives with superhuman mental/kinetic powers clash in Hong Kong. Nick (Chris Evans), who can make things float, hides from the evil "Division" that trained him, but "sniffers" can track him. Cassie (Dakota Fanning), a 13-year-old "watcher" who sees the future, enlists Nick to rescue her mother, but warns they must alter the future first, or die. There is gunplay, impalement, ears shattered by screams, suicides forced by mind control, midrange profanity, sexual innuendo, smoking, and hints of drug use. Young Cassie gets drunk. Not so much for middle-schoolers.

"He's Just Not That Into You" -- Crisp, funny and poignant, this romantic comedy (with a little drama) adds characters and plot to the popular nonfiction book's advice. It subtly chides young singles for casual affairs and stifled emotions. Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) practically stalks guys who promise to call and then don't. Conor (Kevin Connolly) pines for Anna (Scarlett Johansson), who takes up with Ben (Bradley Cooper), who's married to Janine (Jennifer Connelly), whose friend Beth (Jennifer Aniston) lives with Neil (Ben Affleck), who won't marry her, while Mary (Drew Barrymore) can't get a date. Gigi then gets eye-opening advice from Alex (Justin Long). There are semiexplicit sexual trysts, one with implied nudity. There is crude sexual slang, midrange profanity, drinking, and implied smoking. A better bet for high-schoolers 16 and older.

"Taken" -- Liam Neeson plays a retired CIA operative who uses his expertise in violence to rescue his 18-year-old daughter (Maggie Grace) after she and a friend (Katie Cassidy) are abducted while on a trip to Paris. He uses what he hears in her panicked phone call, plus his intelligence contacts, to home in on a gang of Albanian thugs who kidnap and drug girls, then use them as prostitutes, even auctioning off virgins. It's a lurid theme. The film makes ingenious use of re-enactment. The stabbing, shooting, head-bashing, car-crashing violence is intense but not graphic, and the portrayal of prostitution and the drugged girls is not explicit. There is midrange profanity, and a few crude sexual references. The film feeds negative stereotypes of Muslims in its villains. Not for middle-schoolers.

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-- R's:

"The International" (NEW) -- Fine actors, intriguing locations and a stunning shootout in the New York City's Guggenheim Museum help "The International" hold its audience, despite a frustratingly opaque plot -- something about an international bank with tentacles in the worlds of weapons, politics, and terrorism. High-schoolers too young to remember the BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International) scandal of the 1980s won't recognize the film's inspiration, but may find its point of view -- that international banks profit from tragedy -- engrossing. Interpol investigator Lou Salinger (Clive Owen) becomes convinced that an international bank had his partner killed and is trying to cover up a weapons deal. He works with a Manhattan assistant district attorney (Naomi Watts) on a chase to Europe and beyond. The R rating reflects blood-spurting, point-blank shootouts, strong profanity, but almost no sexual innuendo except for a remark about "getting laid."

"Friday the 13th" -- A new generation of good-looking, hard-partying 20-somethings suffer grisly deaths at the hands of the seemingly immortal slasher-in-a-hockey-mask, Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears), in this update of the 1980 original and its 80 (perhaps I exaggerate) sequels, all rated R. Graphic and bloody, with impalements, throat-slashings and a beheading, as well as strong profanity, explicit sexual situations, near-nudity, marijuana use and drinking, this "Friday the 13th" will satisfy fans of the slasher genre, but it is not for under-17s without parental OK. I agree with whoever said these films are blend horror and soft-core pornography.

(c) 2009, Washington Post Writers Group.

This news arrived on: 02/19/2009

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