Should I or shouldn’t I? I’m grappling with whether or not to let my 15 year old see a certain R-rated movie or two coming out this weekend. It’s not that I’m opposed to letting him see an R-rated movie. Several are quite good and, in my opinion, really aren’t R-rated. They just have more bad words or an adult theme that censors feel are too much for younger audiences. Believe me, they see and hear plenty of adult talk and situations everywhere. And — gasp! — these youngins even do and say some of these things at the playground and home.
Among the recent R-rated movies I want my kids to see are The King’s Speech and The Ides of March. Why? They make for great conversations. Both have more grown up themes and language that I'm perfectly OK discussing.
Plenty of kids see R-rated movies. I remember a study printed a few years ago mentioning that nearly 1 in 4 kids whose parents don’t show them R-rated movies have seen them. I’m not a parent who allows things because others do. That’s not why I mention this. It’s just kids will find a way if they want to watch R-rated movies. Technology has made it easy.
Plenty of parents also bring their young kids to R-rated movies by choice. It's so common that some theaters have policies saying no kids are allowed with parents after 6 p.m or 7 p.m. so that the adults can enjoy the grown-up film without the distraction of crying or kids running around.
At the last few R-rated advanced movie screenings, I've seen several kids who look to be about 10 years old or younger. I wonder how those parents felt during some of the violent or sexy scenes. Did they talk about it after? Cover their eyes during the movie? Pretend it didn't happen? Laugh? Guess I still believe in seeing R-rated films before my kids so I know what to expect.
The two movies I've been debating are 21 Jump Street and Casa de Mi Padre. Both are hilarious in their own ways. I'll post reviews shortly. Both deserve R ratings for language, violence, drug use and sex.
We've definitely decided on Casa de Mi Padre. It's in Spanish with English subtitles and a parody of bad westerns and telenovelas. You see the bad words on screen. Funny how every bad word in Spanish is translated to the F word. I don't think it will make him say bad words in Spanish any more than if he doesn't see the movie. We've talked about drugs and Hollywood violence, which he's seen in various degrees in PG-13 movies. And there is a sex scene, but it's more ridiculous than sexy and only shows butts. My husband and I laughed the entire scene. It's a good opening for a discussion about sex in movies.
I'm a little more on the fence with 21 Jump Street. Part of me says every boy from about middle school up has snuck a peak at this kind of juvenile R-rated movie. This one has a flash of a group sex scene, kids high on drugs, explosions, gun violence, etc. Overall, this one has many more opportunities to discuss stereotypes and bad behavior. And it's the one I'm more likely to be embarrassed watching with him. So if we do allow it, I'm sending dad.
Cheers!
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