ChildCare Action Project:
Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP)

Entertainment Media Analysis Report
MAR-0055
First Wives Club, (1996)
PG
CAP Score: 60
CAP ID: 0.72

Thomas A. Carder
CAP President


ALERT: To fully understand this report you should first visit the topics suggested by
the CAP Home Page Table of Contents.


First Wives Club CAP Thermometers


ATTENTION, ONE AND ALL! Get it here! If you lust for hedonistic new age selfness and are looking for ways to feed these 'natural' and 'politically correct' desires, and if you are looking for ways to get even with someone who has wronged you, this is the movie for you!

The CAP Final Score of First Wives Club equates to a comparative baseline database PG-13 movie (See CAP Methodology). This discrepancy may be indicative of the slipping standards of morality: indicative of how the threshold of acceptability decays with each new year. Our comparative baseline database of 39 movies was compiled in 1994 and 1995. PG-13 movies of that circa presented certain material. First Wives Club presented material equivalent to PG-13 movies of 1994/95. Disturbing...

While no extreme material was noted, the Wanton Violence/Crime (W) CAP Investigation Area revealed contemplation of suicide, adult tantrums, promotion of physical violence as therapeutic, and an offer to kill somone. Impunity/Hate(1) (I) suffered due to lies and foul language. Sex/Homosexuality (S) paid a huge score price due to lesbianism and promotion of homosexuality as acceptable and desirable: admission of and pride in being so. Drinking of alcoholic beverage to ease sorrows, to celebrate, to socially salute someone, and just plain drunkenness were costly to the starting 100 points of Drugs/Alcohol (D). The 100-point base in Offense to God(2) (O) was shrunk due to, as usual, the use of God's name in vain without the three/four letter word vocabulary, indicating the producers and script writers aparently did not have reverence to God on their minds when they made the movie. Only a few of the 100 points for Murder/Suicide(3) (M) were 'murdered' due to the single suicide found.

Other examples of unacceptable material included: Below is the table showing the scoring in each of the Investigation Areas plus the Final Score drawn from the actual CAP Report. In addition, the number of examples per hour of unacceptable material in each of the Investigation Areas is provided.

First Wives Club CAP Scorecard


In accordance with the comparative baseline data, First Wives Club was equivalent to R-rated material in Sex/Homosexuality and Offense to God. It presented material equivalent to PG material in Wanton Violence/Crime, Impunity/Hate, and Drugs/Alcohol. The movie presented material equivalent to G-rated movies in Murder/Suicide. Thus, First Wives Club was equivalent to the comparative baseline data corresponding to 33% R-rated material, 50 PG-rated material, and 17% G-rated material.

(1) As noted in CAP Special Report-0001, "Investigation Area and Scoring Trend", of the six CAP Investigation Areas, Impunity/Hate was the strongest presence in all four movie classifications. First Wives Club was one of the very few movies contrary to this finding. I pray you will find time to read Special Report-0001. It has a strong revelation about the entertainment media.

(2) The use of the three/four letter word vocabulary is incorporated into the Impunity/Hate Investigation Area. The use of God's name in vain with and without the three/four letter word vocabulary is incorporated into the Offense to God Investigation Area.

(3) Only portrayal of successful murder or suicide are incorporated into Murder/Suicide. Presentation of attempts to commit murder or suicide, deaths by police action, and deaths by war are incorporated into Wanton Violence/Crime.


Please remember we believe that if even one of the six Investigation Area scores for a movie is equivalent to the CAP comparative baseline databse scoring range for R, PG-13, or PG material, the entire movie should be regarded as so rated.  For example, if only Wanton Violence/Crime earns a score equivalent to R but all other Investigation Areas earn a score equivalent to G, THERE IS R-RATED MATERIAL IN THE MOVIE AND YOUR KIDS WILL SEE IT AND HEAR IT IF THEY WATCH THE MOVIE!




Additional reviews of this movie may be located at "Movie Review Query Engine at Telerama."




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Thomas A. Carder
President
ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP)

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