FAMILY FILMGOER By Jane Horwitz Special to The Washington Post Friday, August 10, 2001

Also Playing Kids 6 and Older "Cats & Dogs" (PG). Evil kitty plots world domination while beagle pup joins canine commandos in computer-and-puppetry-enhanced fantasy. Poop, hairball jokes; martial arts; humans held hostage; tots may view animals as really in danger. Not for cat lovers or dog haters lacking humor. "The Princess Diaries" (G).Julie Andrews as queen of tiny Euro principality comes to San Francisco to recruit her gangly estranged granddaughter (Anne Hathaway) as next in line for throne in likable if retro Disney comedy. Talk of divorce and death of an estranged parent; teens kissing. PG-13's "Rush Hour 2." Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker reprise roles as Hong Kong chief inspector Lee and LAPD detective Carter tracking killer counterfeiters -- comic timing, likably off-kilter chemistry in often riotous if nonsensical sequel. Largely bloodless mayhem; sexual innuendo; crude language; jokey ethnic slurs. "Planet of the Apes." Mark Wahlberg as 22nd-century astronaut crashes onto ape-ruled planet with human slaves; he starts rebellion in literate, visually ravishing Tim Burton remake of 1968 film. Too violent for PG-13 – ferocious battles, clubbings, shootings; rare profanity. Too intense for many middle-schoolers, some older. High-school sci-fi, action buffs. "Jurassic Park III." Sam Neill as dinosaur specialist from original 1993 movie, tricked onto another island of cloned dinos in search of couple's missing son. Tired story saved by sprightly dialogue, cast, terrific critters, brevity. Skeletal, bloodied corpses; intense chases, plane crash; dino doo-doo humor. Preteens with permission; not for nightmare-prone. "America's Sweethearts." Catherine Zeta-Jones as witchy movie star, John Cusack as her ex-husband/co-star, Julia Roberts as her formerly fat sis – gathered at press junket by Billy Crystal as studio publicist in jovial spoof. Mildish PG-13 – crude comic verbal, visual sexual innuendo; drug, suicide jokes. Precocious pre-teens with permission. R's "Ghost World." Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson as disaffected high-school grads – hating shopping mall culture, facing life's uncertainties – in poignant, sometimes acidic tale based on Daniel Clowes' graphic novel; Birch's budding artist is at sea till she befriends oddball (Steve Buscemi) record collector. Strong profanity; sexual innuendo; implied overnight tryst. High-schoolers into non-conformist cinema. "Greenfingers." Charming, slightly cliched sugary British comedy inspired by real events about men in a prison who take up gardening, find happiness and purpose; Clive Owen as murderer most changed, Helen Mirren as gardening maven who helps prisoners. Profanity; mild sexual situation with semi-nudity; smoking; fighting. High-schoolers. "Original Sin." Antonio Banderas as 19th-century Cuban businessman obsessed with his mail-order bride (Angelina Jolie) even after learning she's an impostor. Lush, entertaining costume melodrama hampered by occasionally purple dialogue. Explicit sexual situations, often with partial nudity; muted violence; scenes in brothels; smoking, drinking. Older high-schoolers. "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Fab avant-garde glam rock musical tells poignant tale of self-discovery. John Cameron Mitchell adapted his off-Broadway hit and plays transsexual rocker Hedwig, singing of her East Berlin childhood, botched sex-change operation, loneliness. Semi-explicit sexual situations; sexual identity issues, innuendo; semi-nudity; drinking. 16 and older.

"Osmosis Jones" (PG, 95 minutes)
An uneven gross-out comedy, "Osmosis Jones" takes a break from its panoply of yucky bodily fluids to preach about a healthy lifestyle. Alternately silly, funny, tasteless, rather sweet and occasionally dull, it will amuse preteens, but high-schoolers may find it a little too earnest. The PG rating barely contains all the toilet humor and infectious eruptions. In one emotional scene, a preteen sees her sick father near death.

Switching between live action and animation, the movie introduces Frank (Bill Murray), a beer-guzzling, junk-food-scarfing slob of a widower whose health-conscious daughter (Elena Franklin) worries about him. Frank's innards are a cartoon burg – the brain is City Hall, the armpits a steam bath for bacteria thugs. White-blood-cell cop Osmosis Jones (voice of Chris Rock) partners with a cold capsule (David Hyde Pierce) to halt a lethal virus (Laurence Fishburne) determined to bring Frank down.

"The Others" (PG-13, 105 minutes)
In this neat, unfussy little ghost story, the special effects are in the troubled eyes of the characters, their mood enhanced by the echoey Victorian mansion they knock around in and the fog that envelops it. Though it features virtually no gore, "The Others" may be too chilling for teens easily spooked by such tales. But for those who enjoy the odd shudder – and indeed for preteens of stout heart – "The Others" is a welcome throwback. There is talk of death and the afterlife and an upsetting account of children murdered.

Nicole Kidman plays a high-strung woman living in a stately home on the remote Isle of Jersey near the end of World War II. She tutors her children (excellent Alakina Mann and James Bentley) and waits for news of her husband, but the new housekeeper (Fionnula Flanagan) unnerves her and the house seems to have "other" unseen inhabitants.

"American Pie 2" (R, 105 minutes)
"American Pie 2" has a surprising sweetness about it, though it's mainly a lewd sex farce about college guys trying to bed bikini'd girls on summer break. Yet somehow the filmmakers make masturbatory disasters, explicit sexual situations, female toplessness, crude sexual language, homophobia, profanity, toilet humor, and endless sexual innuendo seem, well, mainstream. Many parents and not a few high-schoolers will be offended by "American Pie 2," which is surely inappropriate for anyone under 17, we fruitlessly note. That said, it's non-violent, portrays a wonderful father-son relationship and has strong, smart, choosy women. It's also funny.

Jason Biggs and his pals from the 1999 original are back, now college men sharing a lake house and chasing local beauties or pining for absent ones. Jim (Biggs) still considers himself a bedroom klutz. (Eugene Levy still amuses as Jim's nerdy but supportive dad.) Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), the uncool girl from band camp who accommodated Jim at the senior prom, remains happy to help.