{"id":2206,"date":"2006-06-16T22:50:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-16T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/nacho-libre-and-other-pg-rated-movies\/"},"modified":"2006-06-16T22:50:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-16T22:50:00","slug":"nacho-libre-and-other-pg-rated-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/nacho-libre-and-other-pg-rated-movies.html","title":{"rendered":"Nacho Libre and other PG-rated movies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
I remarked to an editor of mine yesterday that it was kind of nice to see that The Lake House<\/a><\/i>, which opened today, was rated PG. Lately, it seems like almost every movie has enough violence or sexual innuendo to rate a PG-13 or occasionally even an R. And a lot of kids\u2019 movies are just edgy enough to get the PG rating. But you don\u2019t often see PG-rated movies for grown-ups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the 23 weekends so far this year<\/a>, the #1 movie has been PG-13 or R-rated almost every time, the sole exceptions being last week\u2019s G-rated Cars<\/a><\/i> and five earlier PG-rated films (Glory Road<\/i>, Eight Below<\/a><\/i>, Ice Age: The Meltdown<\/a><\/i>, The Pink Panther<\/i>, RV<\/i>), virtually all of which were made for children or family audiences \u2014 with the possible exception of The Pink Panther<\/i>, which was originally going to be a PG-13 film produced by MGM\/UA, until Sony bought the studio and sent it back for re-shoots to tone things down.<\/p>\n

Virtually all the other new films this year that have made the weekly top ten have been PG-13 or R-rated, too, except for eight PG-rated films (Hoodwinked<\/a><\/i>, Nanny McPhee<\/a><\/i>, Aquamarine<\/i>, The Shaggy Dog<\/i>, Akeelah and the Bee<\/a><\/i>, Hoot<\/i>, Over the Hedge<\/a><\/i>, An Inconvenient Truth<\/a><\/i>) and three G-rated films (Curious George<\/i>, Doogal<\/a><\/i>, The Wild<\/a><\/i>), all of which were made for children \u2014 with the sole exception of Al Gore\u2019s documentary on global warming.<\/p>\n

So, I appreciate the fact that The Lake House<\/i> is out there. Not cuz I think PG movies are superior. Just because I like variety.<\/p>\n

Another new movie this week is rated PG, and I am referring, of course, to Nacho Libre<\/a><\/i>. I am not really sure whether it can be said that this film was made for grown-ups. I certainly didn\u2019t see any kids in the audience when I saw it last night. Then again, the film is directed by Jared Hess, whose last film, Napoleon Dynamite<\/a><\/i> (2004), takes place in a high school. So who knows.<\/p>\n

At any rate, suffice to say that the fact that this film is rated PG is a little unusual, not least because it stars Jack Black<\/a>, an edgy musician\/comedian sort who hasn\u2019t been in a PG-rated live-action movie since his bit part in Airborne<\/a><\/i> (1993). How did something so unusual come to pass? The Washington Post<\/a><\/i> explains:<\/p>\n

Jared Hess sounds like the most ordinary, average guy on planet Earth.<\/p>\n

During a telephone conversation, the writer-director happily mentions his wife and two children and the fact that he goes to church every Sunday. The former Idaho resident also says he lives in Salt Lake City as opposed to Hollywood because \u201cwe\u2019re really close to Idaho and near the grandparents, and it\u2019s good to be around family.\u201d He explains all this in the same tone he adopts when answering almost every question a reporter poses: pleasant, polite and \u2014 really, there is no better word for it \u2014 normal. . . .<\/p>\n

Hess, a practicing Mormon, avoids the foul language that peppers so many mainstream movies, particularly comedies aimed at younger audiences. Like \u201cNapoleon,\u201d \u201cNacho\u201d is rated PG, and, though it contains cartoonish violence, not a single dirty word is uttered.<\/p>\n

When asked whether any Hollywood players ever ask about his faith, Hess says: \u201cYeah, religion comes up all the time. It\u2019s totally cool. People have a lot of questions, and I think there are a lot of misconceptions [about Mormons] so I think it\u2019s been good. To a lot of people, I\u2019m the only Mormon they know.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mind you, just as Napoleon Dynamite said \u201cfreaking\u201d instead of<\/a> That Other Word That Begins With The Letter F, there is at least one line in Nacho Libre<\/i> the humour of which hinges on the audience\u2019s knowledge of a mildly naughty word. And the film\u2019s approach to ecclesiastical matters is still a tad subversive, e.g. where a jealous monk who is smitten with the prettiest nun in the world sends another man away so that he can talk about \u201choly things\u201d with the nun; one wonders what it would be like if Hess applied that humour in an explicitly Mormon situation.<\/p>\n

And for what it\u2019s worth, the MPAA says it rated the film PG for \u201csome rough action, and crude humor including dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

What did I make of the film myself? I would be lying if I said I didn\u2019t laugh. I would also be lying if I said I didn\u2019t check my watch. I think the film has quite a few funny moments, but it doesn\u2019t exactly have the momentum that you expect from a feature film. Then again, given how extremely boisterous the laughter was in certain parts of the theatre, that may be a very minor quibble to the Jack Black and Napoleon Dynamite<\/i> fans of the world.<\/p>\n

Oh, and FWIW, the photo I posted here<\/a> back in November doesn\u2019t seem to have anything to do with the final film. Was a scene deleted, or were the filmmakers just messing with us?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I remarked to an editor of mine yesterday that it was kind of nice to see that The Lake House, which opened today, was rated PG. Lately, it seems like almost every movie has enough violence or sexual innuendo to rate a PG-13 or occasionally even an R. And a lot of kids\u2019 movies are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNacho Libre and other PG-rated movies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I remarked to an editor of mine yesterday that it was kind of nice to see that The Lake House, which opened today, was rated PG. 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