 September
2007
This month's reviews/features:
Nancy Drew
Do the Right Thing
Mattie: Hi, Patty. Mattie. Hey, I’ve got a hankering to
see a movie. Seen anything worthwhile this summer? Something
appropriate for a Christian audience?
Patty: Well, there’s not much out there that’s decent
right now, but I think I can recommend Nancy Drew and
Hairspray.
Mattie: Nancy Drew? You mean that teenage
girl sleuth? I read Nancy Drew novels when I was a
girl.
Patty: She’s the one. There have been a couple of film and
TV versions in the last few years, but this one is a lot better than
those. This time Nancy and her father are in L.A. for several
months, and Nancy’s father tries to get her to swear off sleuthing
while they’re in California. That’s impossible for Nancy, of course.
Mattie: So what did you like about it?
Patty: The values. Nancy is an old-fashioned girl who
believes in doing what’s right. Her idea is that you develop your
own style and don’t worry about what the popular kids (at Hollywood
High in this case) think of you. In other words, don’t try to be
cool.
Mattie: Is there any substance to the movie?
Patty: Actually, there is. It says a lot about close
relationships between parents and children. Nancy and her father
have a good relationship, and there’s more that I won’t tell you now
because it would ruin the surprise.
Hairspray
Mattie: OK. Now what was the other movie? Hairdo, or
something like that?
Patty: Hairspray. Did you ever watch
American Bandstand when you were young?
Mattie: Sure did. I loved it.
Patty: Well, Hairspray is a take-off on that
show. Bandstand was set in Philadelphia; Hairspray is set in
Baltimore, and Corny Collins is the Dick Clark figure.
Mattie: So why did you like it?
Patty: Well, it’s fun, and it has a good underlying
message. It’s about an overweight girl named Tracy who’s a great
dancer. She wants to dance on the Corny Collins show, but a snooty,
racially prejudiced upper-class woman blocks her in favor of her own
daughter. Tracy hooks up with some black kids who love to dance, and
they start a move to integrate the TV show. It’s not really
political, though; it just emphasizes what black and white people
can do together. The acting is absolutely terrific, and there’s good
singing and dancing.
Mattie: Oh, yeah … isn’t that the movie where John
Travolta plays a woman?
Patty: Yep. He plays Tracy’s mother, but there’s nothing
offensive in that. I think he just took it on as an acting
challenge. The movie does get a little raw at times, but it’s rated
PG.
Mattie: Sounds like a winner. Want to go see it again?
Rating:
Nancy Drew 3 stars
Hairspray 3 ¼ stars
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Index of movie
reviews...
(2003 reviews through present)
Jay Maurer, a member of West Side Presbyterian Church, is
a long-term movie buff and former college teacher of The Film as
Literature. He has written movie reviews for The Good News
(West Side newsletter) since 2002.
If you have comments or questions
about the movie (or play) reviews, please contact Jay at
dramachap@msn.com.
Ratings are expressed in
increments of ¼ star.
A rating of 2 ½ stars or higher is meant to be a recommendation.
1 star: poor
2 stars: minimally satisfactory
3 stars: quite good
4 stars: superb
Criteria for determining the ratings:
- Reflection, either explicit or implicit, of Christian values,
including suitability of language and lack of gratuitous violence
- Quality of the acting
- Originality
- Unity of the entire picture
- Substance, or in the words of C.S. Lewis, weight
Other Christian movie review Web sites:
Plugged In Online
ChristianityTodayMovies.com
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