One dilemma of modern life

My wife and I were talking about what to do with our grandson tomorrow. She would like to go to school for a couple of hours and I said, I could probably take him to a movie. We looked at the G rated movies - Cheaper by the Dozen, Chicken Little, Pride and Prejudice, Chronicles of Narnia, Legend of Zorro and Yours, Mine and Ours. Some of those would not be appropriate for a three year old even without the gore and sex. Mason is three, smart and verbal - but we debated whether Narnia (which I really enjoyed) would be appropriate for him.

So I looked up Cheaper by the Dozen - which we saw when my wife and daughter sat through the interminable King Kong - and which we thought was mildly entertaining. The "critics" gave it a D. Then I read the people's critics reviews. I found two things interesting about their reviews. First, some were as well written as the professionals. But second, their general rating was a B. My own rating was a bit lower. The movie was formulaic. It had the required percentage of slapstick gags. It had the love interest (or several) between the two competing families. It had some pet tricks. It had some mildly off color humor. But in the end it told a story that all ages could enjoy.

I am not sure I understand the ratings system. And, at least for me, a PG and a G are about the same. But it seems to me that people who understand the business would do a bit of market research. The critics and the film companies seem to want to push stuff at us that does well critically. Were I in the same business I think I would try for a different marker.