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A service to His little ones (which includes at-home teens) through you, their parents and grandparents, in His name by His Word MAR23075  (2003), RWith Special Comparative Analysis Date: August 1, 2003 CAP Score: 40 out of 100 CAP Influence Density: 4.45 MinMax: -100 |
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(2003), R -- The American dregs of entertainment.  Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Universal Pictures, Zide-Perry Productions, Liveplanet Distribution (US): Universal Pictures Director(s): Jesse Dylan Producer(s): Chris Bender, Louis G. Friedman, Adam Herz, Chris Moore, Craig Perry, Josh Shader, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Warren Zide Written by/Screenplay: Adam Herz Cinematography/Camera: Lloyd Ahern II Music: Christophe Beck Film Editing: Stuart H. Pappé Casting: Lisa Beach Production Design: Clayton Hartley Art Direction: Gregory A. Weimerskirch Viewed At: Driftwood Theater 6 WARNING! This is a descriptive of a very vulgar movie. At times, the descriptive may be uncomfortable even though we use polite nomenclature. Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs) and Michelle Flaherty (Alyson Hannigan) have been an item for quite some time and Jim feels it is time to pop the question ... American style. At least the way the writers want us to think of the American style. I pray there will be no "American Wedding Night" or "American Baby" or "American Family" or "American Children" or "American ?" Among Jim's best pal's are Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott). Finch is the sophisticated and refined of the trio. Stifler is the foul-mouthed rude dude. And rude dude he is. Most of the 55 uses of the most foul of the foul words and the 62 uses of the three/four letter word vocabulary [Col. 3:8] and nearly all the vulgar comments, insults and innuendo [Eph. 5:4] come from Stifler ... until Stifler becomes Finch and Finch becomes Stifler. The 19 uses of God's name in vain both with and without the four letter expletive were presented by several [Deut. 5:11]. Enters Cadence Flaherty (January Jones), a seemingly delightful and proper young lady, younger sister to Michelle and the reason Stifler became Finch and Finch became Stifler. Both Finch and Stifler set their sights on Cadence. Stifler thinks Cadence is a refined lady and steps out of character to match what he thinks Cadence wants in a man. Finch thinks she wants a man who lives a little more on the edge and counterfeits himself to match what he thinks she wants. After a deluge of offers of sex and requests for sex, both ploys work [1 Thess. 4:2 - 5]. To a point. One of the subplots is Michelle wants a special wedding dress that can be found only in Chicago if it is to be had in time for the wedding. Jim, Finch and Stifler head to Chicago, 3 hours one way, to find the dress maker. Upon arrival at the dress shop, the boys find the dress maker is out bar hopping. So, out to bar hop go the boys. The first one we enter is with the Stifler and is a gay bar. And in that gay bar are gay behaviors, including same-gender kissing and dancing. But after some challenging of Stifler by Butch Queen (Willam Belli) in dance-off, the boys are accepted and the dressmaker is revealed. [Rom. 1:16 - 32; 1 Cor. 6:9 - 10.] American Wedding is immoral sex, drinking, vulgar language and mannerisms. While its final score of 40 is typical of modern R-rated features, the range of Influence Density (ID) figures for R-rated movies in the CAP comparative baseline database was approximately 0.7 to approximately 2.2, the higher the figure the more severe the density of moral and ethical assaults (for more information, see CAP Methodology. American Wedding earned a well-deserved ID of 4.45! American Pie earned a final score of 41 with an ID of 2.27. American Pie 2 earned a final score of 40 just like American Wedding but an ID of 4.16. The American dregs of entertainment. And the throngs like them! [Ps. 12:8] A sign of the times, I guess. [2 Tim. 3:1 - 7]. As a convenience, below is the sign of the times (a comparison of the three American ... movies). At least they are obviously consistent in their focus ... on sin. NOTE: You may need ot resize your window a little wider to accommodate the image below:  I will not discuss that which is obvious in the display above. As a parent, grandparent or pastor, you can clearly see for yourself what our youth are getting. Yes, our youth. There were more youth than adults in the audience which is completely predictable since more than half the moviegoers in America are non-adults (Loews Theaters pre-show trivia) and since more than half of all movies made are rated R (our finding, Where's the G?). You do the math. On a side note, while it is clear that many if not most of the viewers of American Wedding were non-adults, what makes such entertainment okay for adults? Is there some magic age at which sin in and as entertainment becomes no longer sinful. (I know I am going to hear a lot about that comment). I have yet to find any Scriptures that tells me that there are behaviors which are sinful for children but are not sinful for adults as well. Note that "legal" is not part of the question. Besides, since when has "moral" ever been considered when legality is determined? Since John Wayne, the world has gotten an impression of America and has expressed it by emulating characters in American movies. Even movies portray this emulation. In Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles two oriental men confuse Dundee with Clint Eastwood because of Dundee's cop-like antics and revel over helping "Clint Istwood" subdue the bad guy. No doubt other populations, especially their youth, will emulate American Wedding attitudes and the movie makers will be responsible [Luke 17:2]. Maybe not legally responsible since a movie is not in a legal sense a "product", but morally responsible. Remember, as a padlock is only a signal to an honest man and won't even slow down a dishonest man, the R rating is no more than a signal to the integrity of the moviegoer. Evidence that the R rating is no more than a signal was the toddlers and young adolescents in the audience -- with their parents, at least with mom -- when I observed the movie. I wonder what Child Protective Services would do if I showed still pictures of some of the scenes in American Wedding such as the S&M women to little children of the same ages as those in the audience? Well!? It's just art isn't it? I wonder what CPS would do if I even showed stills of the same scenes the little ones saw in the movie to the same little ones? I'll bet I hear a lot about this paragraph, too. If you are riled by it and plan to send us more flaming hate mail, please consider again Luke 17:2. Regarding my snide comment "It's just art isn't it?", art is not sin and sin is not art. Art becomes sin when art uses sin. I'll not spend any more time on this Summary/Commentary. If you want to know why I still conduct analyses of R-rated movies, see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), item number 5 Please, at least read the listing in the Findings/Scoring section if you are contemplating going to see American Wedding. Finally, I realize I have included a lot of His Word as it applies to the behaviors noted in American Wedding, but these are dangerous times and a "full load" rather than just a few bales may be needed.
SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ]. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
 Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Impudence/Hate (I) Sexual Immorality (S) Drugs/Alcohol (D): Offense to God (O) Murder/Suicide (M) |
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| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our more than eight years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
