Review of Cleanflix (2009) by Shane S — 24 Feb 2014

I don't believe movies should be edited. I don't believe edited movies should be sold to families that want to show, say, The Matrix to their kids. There's a thing called the ratings system - it's in place in order for families to make better choices as to what movies they should watch. Yes, the 1985 ruling on R-rated films by the Latter-Day Saints does bring people at a standstill - they desperately want to watch some of the best films ever made, but they want to keep themselves pure because that's what they know - but that ruling should not have been there.

This movie makes the argument that simply cutting out sex will only worsen the deviancy and make it explode. Take the case study of Daniel Thompson, the so-called "face" of Clean Flicks, a humble Utah-based edited video store where families can go watch edited versions of films that shouldn't be edited in the first place (e.g. Back to the Future, the Goonies, Saving Private Ryan) or hear about how that Pretty Woman and Brokeback Mountain don't have redeeming qualities since they explore the idea of "what if the sinners actually are human instead of sick, twisted people?" You see, Daniel thrived off of the edited video business - a little too much to the point where he became a bit of a deviant - but he always saw it as himself vs. the studios. When the original Clean Flicks guys left the business as a means to obey the law, Daniel used every loophole to stay open just to "provide" families with butchered films that lose their entire meaning.

But the thing is that the film makes you feel both sides. There are couples that want to see these films, but don't feel it necessary to watch the unfiltered film because it's happier that way. However, there are directors who are peeved at the idea that families want to watch Goodfellas and Traffic. Families watching already mature films about why being a gangster is bad and why doing drugs is bad. You know, that's out of your target audience. If a film's R-rated for a reason, it's R-rated for a reason. It's like editing End of Evangelion or Guernica because "there's too much violence" or "the characters are too unlikeable." THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE PIECES OF ART IN QUESTION.

I still see that the mindset of "exploring a killer's sick mind is horrible and should be discouraged" is still prevalent in America.