Wild Things: For Kids?

Since seeing the movie Friday night, I've been poking around at a few reviews, finding that many are agreeing it's not really meant for or appropriate for kids. And as I've talked to a few parents about how much I loved it, I'm wondering in the back of my mind if I should be endorsing it, or if I should be adding some sort of disclaimer, before they take the family out for a night at the movies.

And first, this makes me perplexed at our rating system. A PG movie is automatically assumed to be for kids and only kids. The trouble is, families have been conditioned to think that just because a movie is G or PG, it is meant to entertain the family rather than be discussed and discerned, and that's when they end up being disappointed (or disturbed) by rich films like WALL-E, UP, or WILD THINGS. And a PG rating also makes the vast majority of adults assume there's nothing worth pursuing on that screen, as if the only thing we're looking for in a movie is more provocative content. If we don't judge books by covers, why do we judge movies by ratings? If families or adults see this movie according to its rating, both parties with be surprised, not because it is inappropriately rated but because it is much more, or at least much different, than the average PG movie.

So let's get one thing straight, WILD THINGS is not meant to be viewed in the same way as CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. If your child picks up on any of the meat in the movie, he might come home just a little depressed, a little distrusting of the world. The characters are not sweet and flowery and tidy and perfect and cute. They are a bit endearing, but only if you find a little bit of dysfunction endearing. And I wouldn't say it's a feel-good, fairy-tale sort of triumphal ending, either. The formulas for the typical PG movie will not be found.

Let's get another thing straight. If your children still like to entertain themselves with their imagination, they'll probably like the movie just fine. But that seems to be more of a rarity these days. WILD THINGS is reminding us of a nostalgic childhood where homemade forts--be it blankets or snow--were all the entertainment needed, before the time when movies became mindless babysitters and told us exactly what to visualize rather than letting words on a page cause images to unfold, before the time when chasing the enemy on your XBox became more exciting than stalking your dog around the house like a Serengeti predator. Stylistically, those reviewers are half-right in saying it's not for kids. What they mean is it's not for today's kids, they've been conditioned for something different from a movie. But it is for yesterday's kids, and that's part of why my young adult generation is so excited about it.

And maybe the biggest concern of all is the concern for safety and protection. Yes, that's part of a parent's job, but few would disagree that we're overprotecting these days. That's also what this movie is about. All of the emotions and circumstances are so real and universal and honest and accurate, without being at all inappropriate. While I respect the decision of a parent who feels their child is not ready for the movie, I simply hope that family will at some point find ways to appropriately approach, confront, and process the emotions that are a part of life, part of being human. I hope that ignoring a movie isn't a sign of ignoring the reality of life.

But of course, I'm no parent, so what do I know? And I say that with as much honesty and humility as I can muster. If I had kids, it's probably obvious by now that I'd love to take them to see this movie. And I'd love to come home and build a fort and hold a rumpus. But maybe that's what would turn my kids into little outcasts at school (a real and universal emotion that is among those addressed in the movie), and that's not what the average parent or child is looking for at the theater today.

So, if you're a parent, you might not want to take my word on this movie. But all of this was too complicated at the time to explain to the mother in church asking me, "How was it?"