Gnomeo and Juliet (5/24/2011)

Rated G.

Starring James McAvoy (voice), Emily Blunt (voice), Ozzy Osbourne (voice), Jason Statham (voice) and Patrick Stewart (voice)

Directed by Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2, Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron)

TODD’S WORD: I finally found something more useless and annoying than Garden Gnomes…a movie about Garden Gnomes.

JONATHAN’S WORD: That’s funny. I can’t say that I have such a dislike for Garden Gnomes, but this film was disappointing on every level. Here’s the synopsis:

The animated tale Gnomeo and Juliet attempts William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet, with one big difference… the characters are garden gnomes that can move when human beings aren’t watching. Though Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) belong to feuding garden gnome families, they meet and fall in love. But the clans’ shared animosity is exacerbated when Tybalt (Jason Statham) dies in part because of actions taken by Gnomeo’s to defend a friend that Tybalt was attacking. After getting some sage advice from a statue of William Shakespeare (Patrick Stewart), Gnomeo attempts to set things right, and win the heart of the lawn ornament he loves. The supporting cast includes the vocal talents of Michael Caine, Hulk Hogan, and Maggie Smith.

TODD’S WORD: Seriously how has it taken this long for Hollywood to make this movie?

JONATHAN’S WORD: I wish they wouldn’t have.

TODD’S WORD: Let’s start with one or two good things. The cast is pretty good.

JONATHAN’S WORD: I agree. I didn’t have high expectations for this film, but I thought, “Hey, Emily Blunt, Jason Statham, Patrick Stewart! Not bad.”

I was wrong.

Bad! Really lame.

Todd, you said you had a couple things that were good?

TODD’S WORD: Actually that’s all I got. Just the cast.

JONATHAN’S WORD: Yeah, that’s all I got too. Although, I can’t really slam on the animation. It wasn’t bad. It was just hard to enjoy it at all with such bad writing.

TODD’S WORD: I agree. This movie was lame from beginning to end. And honestly I struggled with thinking, maybe I’m being unfair because this is a kids’ movie and I’m not a kid…but my kids asked if we could turn it off about 20 minutes into it. Of course I didn’t make them watch it all, but as they were leaving the room, they both laughed and said, “That’s a Coaster dad.”

JONATHAN’S WORD: Ashley, my 13-year-old, went to see it with her friends in the theatre. They made fun of it the entire way through.

When I saw it, I was not only bored out of my mind, I was a little bummed with some of the subtle innuendo. I was actually a little surprised that they slipped it into a G film.

The film fell short in every way. My vote: SKIP IT!

TODD’S WORD: I agree the entire concept of using garden gnomes was dumb, the animation was simplistic at best, and the jokes didn’t make me laugh at all. I agree with my kids…it’s a Coaster.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Maybe preschoolers will enjoy it, but most kids will check out. Some parents might want to co-watch this with young kids because of the subtle innuendo.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: The story of Gnomeo and Juliet (as well as Romeo and Juliet) is a story of conflict between two families and two members of those families falling in love. In this children’s movie, Gnomeo and Juliet’s relationship brings the families together and there is a much happier ending.

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: Dealing with conflict and anger is a very real part of life for all of us. So the question is, how do we as Christians deal with conflict? In other words, how would Jesus handle the same conflict?

Ask your student/child for examples of conflicts.

Read Ephesians 4:25-27 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Then discuss what might be “sinful” responses.

What do you think Paul means when he says, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold”?

Now that we know that we need to confront conflict head on…let’s see how we should confront it. Read Matthew 18:15-17 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

So what is the step by step process for dealing with conflict?

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: First of all, do you have any unresolved conflict with anyone right now?

If you do, what can you do this week to try and resolve that conflict?

If you don’t, what can you do to be better prepared the next time you experience conflict?