Movie Puzzle

[Ben E Lou]

Rookie puzzle creator, so y'all don't be too hard on me.

A little history for context: at age 13, I convinced my older brother to take me to see "Richard Pryor Live On The Sunset Strip," my first R-rated movie. We lied to our parents, saying we were going to see a different film, as my mother would have vetoed it without question.

If I could write my mother a letter, I'd confess my early-teen duplicity, but also decry her legalism that I felt forced my hand. Since I can't, in an effort to redeem both, years ago I decided what movie would be my oldest daughter's first R flick, that I would watch it with her, and that I was pretty sure that this signature moment would occur during her middle school years.

Last night, in full accordance with the plan, my rising 7th grader and I watched the movie.

What movie did we see?

[albionmoonlight]

I am first looking at R rated movies that came out the same year.

[Ben E Lou]

I should say two things:

1. It’s not an obscure movie.
2. Some are extremely veiled, while others are more direct, but there are 10 clues in the post.

[Ben E Lou]

(Well, I guess 11 if you count the fact that it’s rated R as one of the clues…)

[AnalBumCover]

Good Boys?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Good Boys?

X

[Ben E Lou]

(Given that there are 10 clues up there, I suppose that answers should include at least one reference to a clue?)

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

(Given that there are 10 clues up there, I suppose that answers should include at least one reference to a clue?)

Even though my answer is wrong, here are my clue references:

Rookie puzzle creator: directed by Gene Stupnitsky, in his directorial debut

early-teen duplicity and signature moment would occur during her middle school years and rising 7th grader: movie about middle-school-aged kids

[Ghost Econ]

Passion of the Christ

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Passion of the Christ

X

Heh. Re-reading my post, that one could hit at least five clues, but it’s not the answer. Interestingly enough, it was never even under consideration for this moment. (IMO, Jesus of Nazareth and Risen are far better movies for the subject/age.)

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Even though my answer is wrong, here are my clue references:

Rookie puzzle creator: directed by Gene Stupnitsky, in his directorial debut

early-teen duplicity and signature moment would occur during her middle school years and rising 7th grader: movie about middle-school-aged kids

Nice thought process, but I’ve never even heard of this movie, let alone seen it.

[Cuckoo]

Stand by Me

[albionmoonlight]

That has a real The Breakfast Club vibe

[albionmoonlight]

dola:

The letter, the rule breaking that was semi-justified,

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Cuckoo

Stand by Me

X

Had no idea this was an "R" until your post. I saw it once, either in high school or early college, recall liking it fine, but not enough to have ever seen it again.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

That has a real The Breakfast Club vibe

X

Confession Time: I've never seen The Breakfast Club in its entirety, even though we often used clips from it in YL in the 80s & 90s.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Cuckoo

Stand by Me

That was my guess too.

[albionmoonlight]

"If I could write my mother a letter" is a strange way of saying "If I could tell my mother"

I am pretty sure that's a clue.

R rated movies focused on letters . .

[AnalBumCover]

Kind of obscure, so it breaks the "it's not an obscure movie" hint, but...Thirteen?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Kind of obscure, so it breaks the "it's not an obscure movie" hint, but...Thirteen?

X

Never heard of that one either.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

"If I could write my mother a letter" is a strange way of saying "If I could tell my mother"

I am pretty sure that's a clue.

R rated movies focused on letters . .

So we have a dead or otherwise unavailable mother or perhaps an illiterate protagonist in our movie.

That's what I got from that anyways.

[Swaggs]

Porky's? - based totally on the age and "teen duplicity"

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Porky's? - based totally on the age and "teen duplicity"

Ben waited his whole life to sit down and watch Porky's with his middle school daughter?

I guess we all need life goals . . .

[Ben E Lou]

So, uh, no. Porky's isn't it.

[AlexB]

Porky’s 2?

[spleen1015]

Poetic Justice

Main characters mom is dead and she's a poet, reading her poems throughout the movie.

[rjolley]

Boyz N the Hood

Rookie effort for John Singleton. Tre's mom was there at the beginning, then never heard from again.

Thought the ages matched up, but maybe they're close enough...

[Toddzilla]

Wierd Science?

Teen duplicity....get it?

[Swaggs]

Whoops - shouldn't have been speed reading at work.

[Butter]

Porky's cracked me up

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Poetic Justice

Main characters mom is dead and she's a poet, reading her poems throughout the movie.

X

Never seen this one either.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Boyz N the Hood

Rookie effort for John Singleton. Tre's mom was there at the beginning, then never heard from again.

Thought the ages matched up, but maybe they're close enough...

X

Good thought though. It didn't make it into serious consideration at this age because of the more overtly sexual stuff, though if I were going to wait 3-4 more years for this milestone, it might have been in the running.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Wierd Science?

Teen duplicity....get it?

X

PG-13.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Whoops - shouldn't have been speed reading at work.

Heh. For a while there I was FAR more interested in finding out what movies Swaggs watches/watched with his kids than in if anyone had solved my own puzzle.

[JPhillips]

Rookie puzzle creator, so y'all don't be too hard on me.

A little history for context: at age 13, I convinced my older brother to take me to see "Richard Pryor Live On The Sunset Strip," my first R-rated movie. We lied to our parents, saying we were going to see a different film, as my mother would have vetoed it without question.

If I could write my mother a letter, I'd confess my early-teen duplicity, but also decry her legalism that I felt forced my hand. Since I can't, in an effort to redeem both, years ago I decided what movie would be my oldest daughter's first R flick, that I would watch it with her, and that I was pretty sure that this signature moment would occur during her middle school years.

Last night, in full accordance with the plan, my rising 7th grader and I watched the movie.

What movie did we see?

My possibilities for 10 clues.

[Carman Bulldog]

Do the Right Thing

[Solecismic]

I'm not great with movies, so most of the references would escape me, but "flick" and a somewhat political tone leads me to Election. It's an R I wouldn't mind showing to a younger kid. It's been so long since I saw it that I can't think of a related letter and I'd also think there'd be some reference to Matthew Broderick's over-the-top bee-sting (y'all don't bee???), plus high school not junior high, so it's an unlikely guess.

[cuervo72]

Was gonna say Malcolm X, but that’s PG-13.

[thesloppy]

Have we ruled out all Porky's or just the first one??

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

My possibilities for 10 clues.

The "rising" bit about his kid has to be a clue.

[Carman Bulldog]

To add to my answer of Do the Right Thing, it's more focused around the references to legalism, hand being forced, etc. The reference to mother could also be a reference to Mother Sister (and the fact that actress Ruby Dee is dead - thus the if I could reference).

[cuervo72]

Not a bad guess. Thought of it but didn’t know how any of the clues fit.

[RendeR]

The king's Speech

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

Do the Right Thing

Have wanted to watch for a long time, but haven't gotten around to it.

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I'm not great with movies, so most of the references would escape me, but "flick" and a somewhat political tone leads me to Election. It's an R I wouldn't mind showing to a younger kid. It's been so long since I saw it that I can't think of a related letter and I'd also think there'd be some reference to Matthew Broderick's over-the-top bee-sting (y'all don't bee???), plus high school not junior high, so it's an unlikely guess.

Haven't seen or (that I can recall) heard of this one, but based on your comments, not completely out of left field, either.

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Was gonna say Malcolm X, but that’s PG-13.

It's on the short list to watch with her, but probably in 2-3 years. I want her to have a better overall understanding of the historical/cultural context he was living in and speaking into before we watch and discuss this one. (But, yeah, as far as this puzzle goes, it's PG-13.)

Originally Posted by RendeR

The king's Speech

Haven't seen or (that I can recall) heard of this one.

A tiny hint: you may not realize it's an "R" movie. Out of curiosity, yesterday afternoon I checked one of the parent-guidance resources that we use to make decisions about media our kids can consume, and significant numbers of the parental review comments expressed surprise that it's an R. The average "recommended age" from parent reviews was 13.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, and JPhillips didn't identify all of them, but he's pretty close.

[albionmoonlight]

Heathers?

R rating (That surprised me when I saw it).

Involves lying teens and, IIRC, a suicide note.

I watched it a million years ago, so I can't remember if the other clues fit or not.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Heathers?

R rating (That surprised me when I saw it).

Involves lying teens and, IIRC, a suicide note.

I watched it a million years ago, so I can't remember if the other clues fit or not.

Nope. Not familiar with that one.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Nope. Not familiar with that one.

Does not strike me as your jam, honestly. But was worth a guess

[NobodyHere]

I want to say this is a historical political drama due to words such as "veto", "signature moment", "A little history", and "legalism".

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Heathers?

R rating (That surprised me when I saw it).

Involves lying teens and, IIRC, a suicide note.

I watched it a million years ago, so I can't remember if the other clues fit or not.

We watched this with our 16 and 12 year olds in the past month or two. It did not age well, especially the part where Christian Slater's character is trying to blow up the school. Really regretted that we let them watch it... I think it came from an age when doing such a thing was unimaginable, but these days, it is all too easy to imagine.