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It's spring cleaning in Hollywood this month, as movie studios are dumping mediocre offerings onto the market and letting audiences root through the glut. So far, April's eight mainstream releases have sparked little interest in moviegoers, and have received an equally middling response from Christian critics.

This courtroom drama took number one at the box office this weekend, but still performed below industry expectations. (Perhaps because the title sounds like a romantic comedy about proposing to a girlfriend.) What's more likely, as many Christian critics have suggested, is that the movie doesn't really deliver what it promises. The potential morality play tells of a U.S. marine (Samuel L. Jackson) charged with murder after a bloody conflict with Yemen demonstrators becomes a PR nightmare for the government, but the U.S. Catholic Conference says the film only "superficially explor[es] the harsh reality of life-and-death decision-making under fire." Michael Elliott of Crosswalk.com agrees, adding that the politician bad guys are flatly "portrayed as being either weak and cowardly or as evil and manipulating," and that any lesson is presented with "a heavy hand … instead of triggering our minds with its subtlety." The Phantom Tollbooth's J. Robert Parks offers a more upbeat take, writing that although "the script's resolution might leave you scratching your head," the film still makes for "an interesting diversion." John Adair of Preview gives an equally average report, noting that while "the story lacks originality … the battle scenes are quite compelling."

New reviews of this smash hit, still number two in its third week, don't differ much from initial reaction by Christian critics. The true story of a nearly penniless mother who ends up seeing justice done for hundreds of local residents poisoned by a nearby power company, Erin Brockovich has been highly praised. Critics have lauded both its intelligent, persevering heroine and its tackling of tough moral issues. Movieguide calls it "an extremely entertaining movie about finding one's vocation by helping other people," and The Movie Reporter notes its "positive message about seeking justice for those who can't defend themselves." Jeffrey Overstreet of Greenlake Reflections praises the film because it "refuses to sugar-coat the tough moral dilemma" of whether family or work should come first. "What would you do in this situation?" asks Parks of The Phantom Tollbooth. "Take care of your kids and watch your neighbors and friends die at the hands of an indifferent and careless company?" But several critics, Movieguide and The Movie Reporter included, felt Brockovich's provocative attire and foul language tarnished the film. Childcare Action chides her for "brazen and forcibly bold manipulations" using "every manner of non-violent verbal and sexual intimidation she could muster." Others, though, like Christian Spotlight guest reviewer Gabe Rodriguez, said Brockovich is tolerable within the context of the film. "Albert Finney, in a far more subtle role [as head of the law firm], is great, and he provides needed balance to Erin's brash ways."

This animated musical, about two ruffians who stumble into the city of gold and angle to plunder its riches, is another underperformer receiving lackluster reviews. World magazine faults it for aping the Disney formula, right down to the "standard-issue Evil Sorcerer with his standard-issue Enchanted Monster." The U.S. Catholic Conference writes that "the storyline tends to limp and the flat, formulaic music is forgettable," and Childcare Action says the film borders on racist, as "the Aztecs in the movie were stupid enough to think the Spanish con artists were gods." The few bright spots critics found were hotly contested. Crosswalk.com's Holly McClure "liked the fact that the heroine is very clever, witty, spunky and pretty without being too sensuous or sexy," but the site's other reviewer, Michael Elliott, complains that the heroine "is drawn and portrayed with a suggested sexuality that is sure to make parents of our youngest viewers uncomfortable." Preview's John Evans commends the way the film portrays a tribal priest who conjures reptiles "as evil and misguided," noting that the "incident is similar to the miracles of Pharaoh's evil sorcerers in the Bible book of Exodus." Movieguide, however, rejects the film for its "references to pagan religion, and a scary monster conjured up by the evil priest." One thing Christian reviewers did agree on was rejecting the popular implication in mainstream reviews that the two main characters are vaguely homosexual. While Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly points out that "the two enjoy roughhousing and bathing together, as well as provoking each other with limp taunts ('You fight like my sister!')," Christian Spotlight guest reviewer Deanna Marquart dismisses such ideas: "I myself saw no hints of impropriety between them."

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April (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44