THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

 

Headline:  ** Bizarre, Overlong Character Study **

Title:  THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Quality:  * *     Acceptability:  -2

 

WARNING CODES:

Language:  LL

Violence:  V

Sex:  S

Nudity:  N

 

RATING:  PG-13

RELEASE:  December 25, 2008

TIME:  167 minutes

STARRING:  Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning, Jason Flemyng, Julia Ormond, Elias Koteas, and Taraji P. Henson

DIRECTOR:  David Fincher

PRODUCERS:  Cean Chaffin, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:  None

WRITERS:  Eric Roth and Robin Swicord

BASED ON:  The short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

DISTRIBUTOR:  Paramount Pictures/Viacom

 

CONTENT:  (Pa, Ro, B, C, Ab, Ho, LL, V, S, N, AAA, D, MM) Mostly mixed light pagan worldview with some elements of Romanticism as well as some biblical and Christian elements such as prayer, declarations such as "he's a child of God," Scripture is recited and hymns are sung, Christian funeral depicted, Catholic last rites depicted, but the movie contains a somewhat sardonic look at a tent revival church service, plus lesbianism discussed about a ballet troupe; 11 obscenities and four profanities as well as woman proclaiming things such as "Good Lord"; violence includes some shots of war and gunfire, some characters shot in WWII naval battle, and woman dies in childbirth; sexual content includes implied fornication, men visit a brothel, unmarried kissing, montage sequence is narrated by lead character where he tells of being with several women, adultery, unmarried couple lives together; upper male nudity, rear male nudity and women in lingerie; strong alcohol use includes multiple scenes of liquor, alcoholism, drunkenness depicted, and man throws up from drunkenness; cigarette and cigar smoking depicted; and, some lying and protagonist's father leaves his newborn on a stranger's doorstep.

 

GENRE:  Drama

INTENDED AUDIENCE:  Older teenagers and adults

 

Please address your comments to:

 

Sumner Redstone, Chairman/CEO

Viacom

Brad Grey, Chairman/CEO

Paramount Pictures

5555 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA  90038-3197

Phone:  (323) 956-5000

Website:  www.paramount.com

 

SUMMARY:  THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON stars Brad Pitt in the title role, as a man with a mysterious disease that causes his body to grow younger as he ages. This movie is a bloated biography lacking dramatic moments, with some foul language and sexual content.

 

IN BRIEF:

 

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON stars Brad Pitt in the title role, as a man with a mysterious disease that causes his body to grow younger as he ages. Left by his father at a home for senior citizens, Benjamin grows up among the dying elders. The one bright part of his life is young, vibrant Miss Daisy, deftly played by Elle Fanning and later by Cate Blanchett. Their lives intersect at different points. When tragedy strikes, Benjamin is there to pick Daisy up and put her back on her feet. Eventually, they get together when both of them are in their forties. Soon, however, he ages younger as she grows older.

 

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, although unique in concept, is mundane in execution. Rather than focusing on a dramatic arc or exceptional aspect of Benjamin's life, it is a bloated, nearly three-hour biography that never fully reaches its dramatic potential. The movie has a mixed pagan worldview with light Christian elements and includes some foul language and sexual content. This forgettable movie never ends up being the DRAMATIC case of Benjamin Button. Instead, it just seems CURIOUS.

 

NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide Magazine. For more information from a Christian perspective, order the latest Movieguide Magazine by calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org. Movieguide is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best at the box office year in and year out. Movieguide now offers an online subscription to its magazine version, atwww.movieguide.org. The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers.