Utah video clubs edit films for sex and profanity, turning R-rated movies into G
It has nothing to do with his age. It has everything to do with profanity and sex.
After seeing the original "Lethal Weapon" movie — released in 1987 — Cronin swore off films with the R-rating. But at Clean Cut Videos, he picked up a copy of "Gladiator" to take home, despite the naked butts and vulgar language in the original film.
Clean Cut Videos edits movies to remove profanity, sex and gory violence for a mostly Mormon audience here, where many church members abhor Hollywood's idea of entertainment.
"I believe that we're corrupting society with the things that we use for entertainment," said Cronin, who enjoys watching movies nonetheless.
"It was so refreshing to see a movie" without the profanity, he said. "I felt so good afterwards."
He is not alone.
The Clean Cut Videos club, which opened last month, attracted 247 members in its first three weeks in business. There are 62 edited titles in the library now, with three new ones added every week.
"This is something I've wished someone would do for years," said Braxton Schenk, who opened the club with his brother Brian. "But I didn't think it was possible, legalwise."
Utah is the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About 70 percent of the state is Mormon, and the church prides itself on a clean, family-values image.
The Schenks are upstarts in this business; they credit another Utah man with being a pioneer when it comes to cleaning up videos.
Ray Lines has three CleanFlicks video stores near Provo, about 60 miles south of the Schenks' place. When he began parsing profanity and sex from videos last October, Lines was on untested legal ground. How would Hollywood respond?
After some initially hostile muttering, the film industry has been silent, Lines said.
Because the video club buys its films retail and circulates them only among club members, the enterprise is legal, Lines said.
"I've had my lawyers call every one of those guys. It's not a priority for the movie houses," he said.
Indeed, calls to several Hollywood studios, directors and film industry organizations were ignored or deflected.
"We're going to have no comment on that," said Cheryl Glenn, a spokeswoman for DreamWorks studio, whose film "Gladiator" is among those the video clubs are editing.
"It's a win for Hollywood because every one of these we've purchased," Lines said, pointing to the 250 titles in his Pleasant Grove store.
While the edits may well be legal, some movie purists think the practice alters the films beyond recognition.
"The very idea that seeing a movie after someone else has 'cleaned it up' ... is so stupid as to be insulting," said Geoff McMurtry, a film buff who makes the annual pilgrimage to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. "There are plenty of 'Who's the Boss' reruns on TV right now, for just this very audience."
But at the Schenks' store, entertainment is about good stories, not bad language.
"Great movies are great because they have a great story line, not because they drop the 'F-bomb,' " said David Schenk, using a euphemism for a common profanity.
In films such as "Good Will Hunting," where the "F-bomb" drops 139 times, the strong story about three young men living in Boston made the heavy edit worthwhile, both Lines and the Schenks said.
And "Saving Private Ryan." Its 90 profanities are silenced, but the powerful portrayal of World War II combat remains.
"You're still going to be emotionally drained," Braxton Schenk said.
Some films will never get edited, however.
"Showgirls," a 1995 movie about erotic dancers in Las Vegas, would be nothing but the opening and closing credits if the Schenks gave it their standard edit.
Lines, who says he finds vulgar movie dialogue offensive, does not have to sit through the sex and profanity in order to edit the videos.
"We don't have to watch a scene to be able to edit it," Lines said, adding that he uses a Web site called "Screen It" to find out where a movie's dirty parts are.