Must See TV 'Show' By Jane Horwitz Special to The Washington Post Friday, June 5, 1998

Also Playing Okay for Tots on Up "Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie" (G). Barney and pals chase magic egg in well-made whimsical tale. Kids 2-6 can sing along sometimes, only worry when egg nearly falls. Okay for 6 and Up "Quest for Camelot" (G). Spunky teen girl saves King Arthur from villainous knight in entertaining, jokey animated musical that gives the legend a feminist twist. Funny two-headed dragon, scary fire-breathing one, giant ogre, sword battles may scare tots. Okay for 10 and Up "Godzilla" (PG-13). Mega-lizard takes Manhattan in uninspired but amusing udpdate of '54 classic. Less violent than "Jurassic Park" flicks; rare mild sexual innuendo, profanity. PG-13's and Why "Hope Floats." Young mother leaves cheatin' husband in bland comedy-drama. Rare profanity; mild love scenes, sexual innuendo; themes of divorce, depression, death. Okay for most 10-12s. "The Horse Whisperer." Long, scenic, well-acted tale of emotional healing about girl, her mother and horse seeking solace after riding accident. Intense accident scene with horses, riders, truck; rare profanity; muted sexual innuendo. "Deep Impact." Comet threatens Earth in turgid, ponderous sci-fi epic. Not too intense for many 10 and up. Profanity; mild sexual innuendo. R's – Arty'n'Ordinary "Lawn Dogs" (Unrated but R-ish). Blue collar lawn guy befriends rebellious 10-year-old girl from fancy neighborhood in oft-intriguing comedy-drama about class that finally opts for eary stereotypes of suburbanites vs. poor folk. Sexual situations; nudity; rare violence; death of a pet; graphic toilet humor. Older high-schoolers. "I Got the Hook Up." Crude comedy about con artists in the 'hood. Nonstop profanity, sexual innuendo; comic gun violence; toilet humor, homophobic, woman-hating jokes; marijuana, liquor. Older high-schoolers – preferably none. "Wilde." Lush, literate drama examines writer Oscar Wilde's tragedy as homosexuality scandal eclipses literary success in 1890's. Semi-graphic sexual situations, male brothel portrayed, nudity. Mature high-schoolers. "Bulworth." Warren Beatty as senator who snaps, starts speaking truth in wicked, flawed but dead-on political satire. Use of ethnic stereotypes, racial slurs; strong language; cocaine use, drinking; sexual innuendo; adulterous affair. Sophisticated high-schoolers. "He Got Game." Spike Lee's flawed but oft-inspired tale of big-time sports, inner-city teens. Explicit sex scenes, nudity; family violence; profanity; drugs, booze. Mature high-schoolers. – Jane Horwitz

"The Truman Show" (PG)
A brilliant, ironic, even profound movie about our mass-media culture, "The Truman Show" is also a feast for the eyes and a truly nonviolent thriller. It can be enjoyed on many levels, so kids 10 and up who don't get its deepest implications will still be entertained. The PG rating doesn't preclude occasional mild profanity and a recurring flashback about a boy's father drowning.

Jim Carrey breaks new ground as Truman Burbank, unwitting star of a hugely successful 24-hour TV soap. His entire life he has lived, in ignorance if not bliss, on an enormous sound stage. It's so big he can't see its roof or walls, and he just accepts his surroundings as his Florida hometown. Everything he sees or hears is controlled by the show's director (Ed Harris). We meet Truman just as he's growing suspicious. Through Peter Weir's ingenious direction, we know the rest of the people are just actors and we even watch through hidden cameras as Truman makes a desperate dash for freedom.

"Almost Heroes" (PG-13)
Nothing reeks worse than an unfunny comedy, and "Almost Heroes" gives off a ripe scent. Kids 10 and up may giggle now and then at the poop jokes, the slapstick humor, the bloodless, comically intended violence and at Chris Farley in one of his final roles. But mostly they'll be bored. Parents, knowing the nature of Farley's death, will cringe at the sight of the distended comic binge-drinking for laughs. The rating also reflects occasional swearing, semi-nudity, crude sexual innuendo and homophobic humor. "Almost Heroes" is a lame, under-researched costume spoof about a couple of post-Colonial doofuses (Farley as a tracker and Matthew Perry as the Yankee doodle dandy who hires him) who try to beat Lewis and Clark to the Pacific.

"A Perfect Murder" (R)
This is mostly a film about architecture, clothes and art possessed by moneyed folk in Manhattan. Only secondarily, beneath all that well-lit style, is it a thriller about a jealous financier (Michael Douglas) who learns of the infidelity of his trophy wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) and hires her smoldering artist lover (Viggo Mortensen) to kill her. The rating reflects two scenes of bloody stabbings and gunshots, strong profanity and steamy but non-explicit sexual situations. High-schoolers may find the glitz fascinating but the thriller element predictable and dull. Loosely based on the 1954 Hitchcock classic "Dial M for Murder," this update is a failure of style over substance.

"The Last Days of Disco" (R)
Since music from the '80s is back in vogue, teens may be drawn to this brainy dramedy about smug yuppies hitting the Manhattan club scene just before its cocaine-fueled fade. The rating covers scenes depicting drug use, frank but not graphic discussions of sexuality and venereal disease, nudity, non-explicit sexual situations and occasional profanity. The super-sophisticated, chilly tone may put off younger teens. The story focuses on mismatched roommates-manipulative barracuda Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and naive Alice (Chloe Sevigny). With a clique of male Ivy League grads, they hit their favorite club and play romantic musical chairs. High-schoolers may find it easier than adults to care about these smart yet stubbornly shallow twenty-somethings and identify with their desperate need to belong.