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Some steered clear of comedy and carnage, preferring the more conventional romance of Sweet November, a remake of a 1968 film of the same title. "Women will probably enjoy this movie the most," says Holly McClure of The Dove Foundation. "We tend to gravitate to impossible love stories that end up working." Nevertheless, she raises an eyebrow over the film's plausibility and insight. "The premise of a woman taking a perfect stranger into her home for a month to romance, coddle, support and 'fix' him, is not only dangerously stupid and unhealthy, but ridiculously unrealistic." The moral development of Nelson (Keanu Reeves) leads Betty Hamm at Hollywood Jesus to observe parallels between the way Satan ensnares people in the world and the way he sought to ensnare Christ. "Mr. Price, an advertising demi-god, offers Nelson the world on a platter. It is a similar offer to the one Satan gave Jesus in the wilderness. Nelson must consider the cost." Michael Elliott at MovieParables also observed fundamental truths at work in the story of Nelson's redemption. "The daily habit patterns of life and living can lead to a certain dullness of mind … effectively numbing one's perception of the variety and diversity which exists in all of God's creation." But however strong the film's moral, Elliott still finds the quality of the filmmaking so poor that he can't resist playing off of the film's title: "It doesn't take long for Sweet November to start leaving a sour aftertaste. This remake tries to get by on the sugary charisma of its stars and, for a time, it succeeds, only to be ultimately done in by the gaping cavities that develop in its script."

Disney's Recess: School's Out, a big screen version of the popular animated television show, divided critics. Michael Elliott at MovieParables appreciates that the film "embraces the unique childlike imagination to which we can all relate because each one of us was, at some time, a child." Though he finds it a bit too long, Elliott concludes that the movie is "an agreeable family picture that contains a little something for everyone." Holly McClure of The Dove Foundation raves, "The story is fantasy at its finest. What kid hasn't imagined him or herself pitted against evil forces to save summer vacation—and coming out the winner?" At Movieguide, Ted Baehr says, "Recess should be commended for its attempt to make an exciting adventure film for elementary school age children while managing to do minimal social or spiritual harm to its young audience." But the United States Catholic Conference has no praise for the film's craftsmanship: "Chuck Sheetz's film feels like an extended series episode with flat animation and a flimsy narrative."

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February (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45