Review
by Bob Ignizio
No
doubt it isn't just Mormons who would like to see less sex, violence,
and profanity in Hollywood films. They're just the ones who decided
to do something about it. Ray Lines got an idea to make edited
versions of Hollywood blockbusterst for his Mormon
friends and family. Soon, though, he started selling his family-friendly edits to video stores in the Utah area, eventually
spreading out nationwide. For a few years, the business was
successful and largely flew under the radar of Hollywood. That is
until Daniel Thompson, a video store owner who purchased some of his
movies from Cleanflicks, decided to take the Director's Guild of
America and some of the major studios to court.
The
documentary CLEANFLIX
tells the story of the rise and fall of Cleanflicks, and how much to
the chagrin of Ray Lines, his company's name became tarnished by its
association with Thompson. Some might argue that even this film devotes more time to
the shocking twists in Thompson's personal life than is warranted and, in
doing so, draws attention away from the less sordid but
nonetheless fascinating story of the actual business of Cleanflicks
and the legacy it left behind. Then again, Thompson seems so willing
to talk about even the most sensitive of subjects, how could any
filmmaker resist?
The
most surprising thing about CLEANFLIX
is how easy it is to feel sympathy for Lines and his customers. Yes,
censorship is a bad thing, and why anyone would want to watch a
version of THE GODFATHER
devoid of sex, violence, and profanity is beyond my reasoning. Would
that even be feature length? Still, to each their own. As long as I
can see Sonny Corleone get riddled with bullets, let the folks in
Salt Lake City see a version of the movie that cuts away from the
carnage. In fact, the studios already have toned-down airline and
network TV versions of their films that they could make available to
rental stores, but they choose not to. If it's really a case of
artistic integrity, as some claim, then why does that integrity end
as soon as one is airborne?
Fortunately
for those who like their movies sanitized for their protection, new
technologies have come along that do essentially the same thing
Cleanflix did, only without actually tampering with the movie. Fat
lot of good that does Ray Lines, the guy who first saw a demand and
tried to supply it. At least this documentary lets him tell his side
of the story and distance himself from Thompson. 3 out of 4 stars.
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