A Workable 'Parent Trap' By Jane Horwitz Special to The Washington Post Friday, July 31, 1998

Also Playing Okay for 6 and Up "Madeline" (PG). Adventures of spunkiest girl in Paris boarding school in generally charming adaptation of Ludwig Bemelmans's beloved children's books. Scurrying mice, a snake; Madeline falling into river; loud thunderstorm; scary chase scene; discussion of Madeline losing parents; kidnapping subplot. "Mulan" (G). Gorgeous animated fable based on Chinese legend of girl who goes to war in ailing father's place. Over-the-top comic elements detract slightly. Intense battle scenes, scary Hun invaders; tots may jump when Mulan's ancestors come alive; other children may be moved when she leaves home. Okay for 10 and Up "The Truman Show" (PG). Profoundly clever fable features Jim Carrey as unwitting star of TV soap who finds he's been surrounded by fakery all his life. Mild profanity; flashbacks of boy losing dad in sailing accident. PG-13's and Why "Polish Wedding." Rambling, overly cute saga of Polish American family's travails with infidelity, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, young woman learning her power over men. Strong sexual innuendo, less grapic sexual situations; profanity; much smoking. "Mafia!." Unevenly amusing slapstick spoof of "Godfather"-type gangster flicks, "Naked Gun" style. Sexual innuendo; ethnic stereotyping; bloodless violence; severed digits; profanity; gross vomit joke. "The Mask of Zorro." Champion of downtrodden in colonial California trains his successor in rip-snorting swashbuckler. Swordplay, explosions, headbanging, fisticuffs; steamy but non-explicit sexual innuendo; semi-nudity; drinking; peasants enslaved; mother shot before infant's crib. "Small Soldiers." Boy's life overrun by computer-brained militaristic action toys in clever comic fantasy-adventure that lacks moral center. Excessive crude language; fairly graphic mayhem. R's, Commercial or Arty "Saving Private Ryan." Steven Spielberg's shattering D-Day fable sets precedent in graphic depiction of battlefield death, has moral weight of "All Quiet on the Western Front." Frightening, gut-churning violence; profanity; sexual innuendo. Mature high-schoolers. "Disturbing Behavior." Parents of troublesome teens let evil high school counselor lobotomize them in weak horror flick. Sexual innnuendo; muted sexual situations; semi-nudity; profanity; marijuana smoked, drugs matter-of-factly discussed; beer. High schoolers. "There's Something About Mary." Ben Stiller as guy who tracks down high school crush in tasteless but hilarious comedy. Graphic gag about privates caught in zipper, another about masturbation; jokes about mentally, physically challenged; stunts involving fake pooch; profanity; partial nudity; marijuana, liquor. Older high-schoolers. "Whatever." High school girl comes of age amid sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll of early '80's in grim, often crude drama. Sexual situations; drugs; alcohol; smoking; profanity. – Jane Horwitz

"The Parent Trap" (PG)
Children 6 and up (especially girls) will be charmed by this slick update of the 1961 Disney classic, and go back and watch Hayley Mills and love the old one, too. Though the PG rating is fair, parents may be surprised at a graphic ear-piercing scene, a joke referring to fatherhood as "the F-word" and one adult's drunk scene.

The story (based on a German children's novel by Erich Kastner) is the same, and the background is just as rich and carefree, though more hip. This time, the 11-year-old twins, separated at birth by their divorcing parents and unknown to each other till they meet at a pricey summer camp, are more daredevilish. The dirty tricks in camp and against the father's gold-digging fiancee are funny and perhaps a bit meaner. Perky Lindsay Lohan plays Hallie, the American twin, as an assertive tomboy and British Annie as a prim little lady. Scenes with Lohan as both girls look convincing with new camera techniques.

"Ever After" (PG-13)
This retelling of the ancient "Cinderella" story features a fairy-tale heroine with brains and initiative who uses her own strengths, not magic, to save the day. But "Ever After" is no feminist tract. It has charm, erudition, grit, humor and gorgeous French scenery. It should bewitch fantasy-loving kids 10 and up, maybe even boys who'd normally avoid romantic costume epics. The PG-13 barely seems necessary, though the film does portray, with understatement, a heart attack and contains subtle sexual innuendo (not involving the heroine) and rare crude language. A few drops of blood spill in swordfights.

Danielle (Drew Barrymore) is a girl of the early 16th century who was nobly born but relegated to servitude with the death of her father and the cruelty of her stepmother (wonderful Anjelica Huston) and selfish stepsisters. A lover of books and a champion of the peasants, she meets the prince of France (Dougray Scott), argues statecraft with him, captures his heart, hides her lowly station, loses him and, well, you know.

"The Negotiator" (R)
Too long and contrived, but saved by the bravado of co-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey, this high-intensity thriller will impress high school audiences, even while the implausible and impenetrable plot (supposedly based on a real incident) gives them pause. The rating reflects bloody gun violence and strong profanity. A top hostage negotiator (Jackson) for the Chicago police is framed for murder. Unsure who's setting him up, he takes his own hostages. Spacey plays a negotiator from another part of the city, whom Jackson's character figures he can trust more than his "friends."

"BASEketball" (R)
A gross-out sports spoof, "BASEketball" has a promising first half-hour, then lapses into a one-joke skit that never ends. High-schoolers (and many younger) who love sports and outrageous comedy are likely to laugh anyway. Aside from profanity and graphic sexual innuendo, the R reflects sports stadiums named after tampon companies, gross humor, ethnic slurs, scantily clad cheerleaders and jokes about dying kids meeting sports heroes. Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creators of "South Park") play a couple of losers who combine basketball with baseball and hit the big time.