Dan
04-23-2001, 03:29 PM
Joe Dirt (PG-13) at the Circus
Daughter: 3 stars
Dad: 1 star
Headline: Deuce of Spades
By Brent and Katherine Northup
"Joe Dirt" opened up the generation gap in our family. Daughter, 14, found it touching and funny. I found it juvenile and unimaginative. Wonder if it has something to do with my being eligible for AARP and her being at HMS?
The story is about a lost soul in his twenties who was abandoned by his parents at 8. He wishes to find them. The movie is a flashback, ending with a bittersweet reunion. If that sounds like a serious plot, think again: This is a David Spade movie. Suffice it to say that this former star of Saturday Night Live also starred in a Beavis and Butthead episode called "Manners Suck."
Enough about the plot. Let's get to the humor.
I found bovine flatulence annoying, while others laughed.
"It was a fun teen-age style film. One of the funnier moments was when he tried to light a firecracker tied to a cow's tail," said Katherine. "To say the least, it back fired. Literally. (The cow was fine and had a good laugh."
We both found the cheap-shot humor regrettable.
"There were some parts that were rather bigoted," said Katherine. "I didn't like how the film seemed to make fun of cross dressers. Not all of them, I'm sure, skin people and are lunatics. I also didn't like how homosexuals were bashed, but other than that the movie was hilarious."
Translation: Daughter was more forgiving than me.
"I found it really sweet that Joe never gave up his dream of finding his parents," she said. "Courage and resilience like that is hard to find these days. Even though he met with many disappointments, Joe always kept an upbeat attitude toward life."
As the movie wore on, I drifted off - the whole thing seemed like the low road to chuckledom. But I kept getting nudged to pay attention.
"I also liked the last scene when Joe's new friends stuck up for him when he was being bullied, said Katherine. "That was sweet. I would recommend this movie to people of 13 to 18.
There isn't much swearing, but there are a few jokes that very few adults would understand. To say my piece, I loved this movie. It was sweet with a twist of gross-out teen humor."
"Enemy at the Gates" is visually impressive, has a great score, but grossly oversimplifies the tale of the German invasion of Russia in WWII. The virtue: it's an American movie without an American subplot. The vice: the whole invasion is reduced to a sniper-versus-sniper tale - with a pretty Russian woman waiting to wed the winner. Despite all this, "Enemy" has the feel of an epic, and is easy to watch. History buffs may want to attend just
so they can bellyache about it afterwards.
Daughter: 3 stars
Dad: 1 star
Headline: Deuce of Spades
By Brent and Katherine Northup
"Joe Dirt" opened up the generation gap in our family. Daughter, 14, found it touching and funny. I found it juvenile and unimaginative. Wonder if it has something to do with my being eligible for AARP and her being at HMS?
The story is about a lost soul in his twenties who was abandoned by his parents at 8. He wishes to find them. The movie is a flashback, ending with a bittersweet reunion. If that sounds like a serious plot, think again: This is a David Spade movie. Suffice it to say that this former star of Saturday Night Live also starred in a Beavis and Butthead episode called "Manners Suck."
Enough about the plot. Let's get to the humor.
I found bovine flatulence annoying, while others laughed.
"It was a fun teen-age style film. One of the funnier moments was when he tried to light a firecracker tied to a cow's tail," said Katherine. "To say the least, it back fired. Literally. (The cow was fine and had a good laugh."
We both found the cheap-shot humor regrettable.
"There were some parts that were rather bigoted," said Katherine. "I didn't like how the film seemed to make fun of cross dressers. Not all of them, I'm sure, skin people and are lunatics. I also didn't like how homosexuals were bashed, but other than that the movie was hilarious."
Translation: Daughter was more forgiving than me.
"I found it really sweet that Joe never gave up his dream of finding his parents," she said. "Courage and resilience like that is hard to find these days. Even though he met with many disappointments, Joe always kept an upbeat attitude toward life."
As the movie wore on, I drifted off - the whole thing seemed like the low road to chuckledom. But I kept getting nudged to pay attention.
"I also liked the last scene when Joe's new friends stuck up for him when he was being bullied, said Katherine. "That was sweet. I would recommend this movie to people of 13 to 18.
There isn't much swearing, but there are a few jokes that very few adults would understand. To say my piece, I loved this movie. It was sweet with a twist of gross-out teen humor."
"Enemy at the Gates" is visually impressive, has a great score, but grossly oversimplifies the tale of the German invasion of Russia in WWII. The virtue: it's an American movie without an American subplot. The vice: the whole invasion is reduced to a sniper-versus-sniper tale - with a pretty Russian woman waiting to wed the winner. Despite all this, "Enemy" has the feel of an epic, and is easy to watch. History buffs may want to attend just
so they can bellyache about it afterwards.