As the mother of a tweenage girl I am grateful for the recommnedation. I shall look out for it on this side of the pond.

I too am very selective on what I will let my nine y.o. watch and wear and am so pleased she isn't wanting to hang out with the 'too old for their age' crowd. Yet.

You are nowhere near middle-aged. I am middle-aged (yuck) and I will watch "Adventures in Babysitting" (80's movie, not quite appropriate for little kids but good for jr. hi, so how lame does that make me?) anytime I get the chance. Anything's better than the insomnia. (Also "Little Shop of Horrors." "Feed me!")

Just letting you know, your instincts are right on. My 13 year old rented Sydney White the last time we rented movies, and she enjoyed it very much. So there you go, some validation to start off your Friday!

Thank you for the recommendation. I will tell my 11-yo about it and we will try the library.

Happy Friday!

Mary

It's SO hard finding something appropriate for girls! My daughter is 4, and kids' TV is appalling - the commercials are disgusting, the content is frightening, can't stand it. My daughter still watches Noggin, which is commercial-free, but she's starting to get too old for most of the shows, and this coming school year she starts school, so I'm sure all her little friends will be watching sh!t-TV and I'll be stuck trying to deprogram her at the end of a visit. Ugh.

You just reminded me of two things: (1) that i want to watch Waitress and (2) that i have OnDemand. Duh! i'm having an official Hot Bath Night To Myself tonight, and that sounds like the perfect way to cap it off. With wine. Of course. Thanks!

Happy Friday!

I should take advantage more often of MOD. But when I watch tv its network programs or some cable. Also, its been YEARS since I've been to a movie theater. Went all the time when I was a teen and young adult. I don't even think I've been out to see a movie in this century! Wow, I just realized that. The last time I went I was getting very annoyed at the person a couple seats to the right of me drumming his fingers on the arm of his seat intermittently. It was an elderly man. Maybe he was bored. I finally almost said something to him but mercifully he quit.

I, too, was always careful what my daughter watched. I like to crapped my pants one day when she was 11 and called from a friend's house saying they were going to watch a movie but then the friend's mother thought that maybe I ought to be contacted first. The movie? SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, y'all!!!! I said no way in f***in hell! Well, no I didn't say that but God almighty, what was that woman thinking????

Um, I found myself watching Hannah Montana at 3am in the very recent past... I was just flipping through the channels and oh! What is this? Corny Disney Channel antics? Next thing I know it's dawn and the cat is making all kinds of noises cause he's hungry.

You're not alone.

I can't imagine finding anything appropriate for girls either--I'm only 25 and it hasn't been THAT long since I was a teen, but my mom would not have let me watch most of the stuff that's on now (which is fine, since I preferred the X-Files anyway....). Ahem.

Right, in the guise of helpfulness, I will also reveal my dorkitude and recommend The Sarah Jane Adventures. It's on Sci-Fi on Friday nights, but it is a kids show, featuring a fantastically realistic teenage girl and middle-aged woman as the main characters and of course lots of aliens and adventure. It's awesome, and had this show been around when I was a kid I would have been all over it. (Kind of like I am now. Except, um, less pathetic. Yeah. Okay. Going away now.)

I heard Walt Disney hated his mom, and that's why you only see evil step moms or dead moms or no moms in classic disney films. Think about. I challenge you to name ONE alive nice mom in a classic animated disney film. There are none.

I know you're trying to cut back on your TV (aren't we all?), but since you love "Deadliest Catch," have you watched "America's Port?" It's one of our new favorites, and Geraldine Knatz is my new hero. Maybe you have to be a nerd a thousand miles from the ocean to love it, but I think it's great.

I'm always watching kids stuff. And you're right. Sydney White is cute.

But back to your calling yourself middle-aged. You aren't planning to live much past the time you resume smoking, are you? If this isn't the case, then you're not middle-aged yet.

I have a weakness for Amanda Bynes movies and I'm not afraid to admit it (I'm 24. Not old but probably not the age group the movie makers are targeting). My favorite is She's the Man--I laugh out loud every time. And you can't go wrong with What a Girl Wants--it has Colin Firth! I just like Amanda Bynes because she's funny and not too girly and doesn't seem slutty in her movies. A winning combination!

I once recommended 'Napoleon Dynamite' to a gramma to watch with her granddawter, not because I liked it [couldn't stand it past 15 mins.] but because my ultra-conservative, stuffed-shirt niece loved it.

I'll file this info away and I will probably use it.

Have a great weekend!
.

Anything's better than watching High School Musical again! My daughter at 7 isn't a tween but sure acts like one....

And, the other ruth, I don't understand how ANYONE could not like Napoleon Dynamite??

VOTE FOR PEDRO!!

Is it bad that you were talking about movies, and the whole time my brain was saying:

Popcorn. Popcorn. Movie? Popcorn.

Wowzers, that MOD sounds very cool. I can see me up all night with it. Heck, when I am in a hotel I can watch Wide World of Poker stuff until my eyes burn. I don't have children so no personal experience, however my sister's girls LOVED 'Anne of Green Gables' and 'Pride and Prejudice' forever and still.

Enjoy your week-end.

i'm with tiffany. i think amanda bynes is adorable in a cute tough chick sort of way. i watched "shes' the man" one sunday because i was too lazy to change the channel (yeah that's pretty bad) and i loved it.

i'll have to watch sydney white.

Ah! I'm so glad you said this about Sydney White! My 11 year-old son is a big fan of Amanda Bynes but I thought this might be too grown up for him! Excellent, I will rent it. Thanks to you, and thanks to your insomnia :). And you are not middle-aged!

And I'm the lone mom who (partly because I got to read and watch anything I wanted when I was a kid) raised my kid the same way. I'm there to watch it too, and answer questions, and it's worked out pretty well.

What's the difference between finding movies for girlchildren and boychildren? Is it avoidance of consumerism/bad body image/etc. or something I'm not getting? I have a boy, and he and I tend to like watching similar things. (Amittedly, I'm fond of action/adventure, and you couldn't pay me enough to watch a chick flick. Except Bridget Jones - damn, I loved that movie!).

What are you talking about? I'm 20 and I still like that movie. Amanda Bynes is great. (You'd probably also like "She's the man" and "What a girl wants." You know. If you're up at 3 am and have nothing else to watch.)

They probably won't have these on MOD, but some of my favorite movies are older ones that I watched as a tween. Really old...like...

The Moonspinners--adaptation of the Mary Stewart novel with Hayley Mills as the heroine--they made the main character younger for the movie

The original Freaky Friday with Jodie Foster as the teen. Actually, I love all the Freaky Friday movies; they each have their own charm.

The Canterville Ghost (how many versions have there been?) -- a fun story starring a 'tween girl.

My Friend Flicka (multiple versions of this over the years, too)--I like this for many reasons, but the main one is how seriously the movie makers present the adolescent character(s)

Lastly, To Kill a Mockingbird--a serious one, but I first saw this quite young and watched it over and over. (I don't think anyone's literary education is complete without this story and one of the few times a movie does justice to a book.)

I liked Sydney White also. I did think parts of it were a little farfetched. But it's really entertaining - like all of her movies!

I can't speak to "Sydney White", but "Michael Clayton" = good George Cloney, I mean, *movie* watching. :)

You know, I once rented "Ice Princess" with Michelle Tracheaburg.. er, Trachtenburg. It was suuuuuch tween movie. And I am 30. And I loved it!!

I really liked Sydney White too...and so did my tweenager. As an extra bonus...the not yet a tweenage dude liked it. Mind you, I think it was all about the dorks for him which kind of worries me.

Hey Beth, fyi, it seems to me that most of the older Disney movies are based on fairy tales and there are no moms in fairy tales. In the children's lit class I studied, I learned that the original tales really WERE Grim tales (heh), and they were used to educate people (not necessarily children) about life and the pitfalls and hardships therein. There is another thought that hangs itself on the reverse Oedipus theory; i.e., young girls have to grow up and become the queens of their own castles.

Anyway, that being said, Thumper's mom isn't killed during "Bambi." Mrs. Darling is okay in "Peter Pan." Would you consider Perdita or Perdita's owner the mom in "101 Dalmations?" And what about Simba's and Nuala's moms in "The Lion King?" Anyway, my point in all of this is that the missing/evil moms are usually associated with 'traditional' fairy tales, which were originally coming-of-age tales for the populace of the time.

That's it. I'm sorry I sounded like I was preaching, but I love children's literature and some of kid's movies, too. Thank goodness for my g-daughter so I don't come off as a total fool. :D

Woo Hoo! I went to Disneyland with my kids and there friends yesterday and I'm not sure I can walk today.

The great thing about the beginning of May is that beer and nachos are on sale for Cinco de Mayo!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

L,

Your posting time says 4:17PM.
I read it waaay early this morning. Smart to change the time if we post @work :-)

Oh, I am so with you on this one - I could stand on my soapbox all day and not stop. I do not understand why the broadcasting powers-that-be think we want our six year olds to turn fifteen on their next birthday. I think Hannah Montana is a fine show for the tweeners (all the Miley Cyrus/Vanity Fair/picture taking brouhaha aside), but I would really rather have my four and six year olds enjoy a childhood full of childlike things instead of being pushed into adolescence before they (and myself!) are ready for it.

One of my guilty pleasures is "Princess Diaries" with Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. It makes me feel good every time I watch it. :)

I was wondering if that movie was any good. My 11 year would like it, I'm sure. Same goes for books-trying to find age appropriate but not about princesses is not easy.
I have rented many movies from iTunes for the kids recently. They like to prented my laptop is a tiny drive-in theater.

You're awesome! Thanks for the advice.

Though I let my kids watch whatever they want. I'm not a good mommy.

Our cable even has a whole bunch of free movies on demand. Of course, they are not recent releases but old favorites do show up on there. Now I want to see Sydney White!

I loved Waitress. Adorable!

Three cats? I fear I'm bringing up a sad subject, but I'm relatively new to the Aunt Purl world. I've been reading the archives and enjoying the pics and antics of four cats. If it is truly only three cats now, let me offer my belated condolences.

Yeah, I'm right there with all you that watch tween stuff. I am known to say, with feeling, that I "hate Disney." However, ask me how many hours I have wasted with my daughter watching Hannah Montana? And Napoleon Dynamite? And now she has discovered Pretty In Pink--cute for teens and so very "retro." When you are considered "retro?" Horrible feeling--she was laughing at me, the 80's, the fact I am almost 40.......

Oh. And for Noggin watching? Can't beat The Backyardigans. My 4 y/o son loves it.

I agree. On Demand is the best invention ever! Last week I had the house to myself for a night and watched Waitress. So Adorable! Now I will go look for Sydney White - because I am really an 11 year old girl hiding in a 42 year old body!

I don't like MOD because my parents whom I am caretakers for hit the wrong buttons on the remote all the time. So to avoid that, when I have the absolute need for a movie now, I check the internet. Yes, there are bootleg sites but there are also more and more sites where you can watch movies legally. Some of those are maintained by the broadcast networks. NBC lets you watch missed episodes of House and other shows as do most other networks. I know I must be a geek but this is the way I watch most of my TV. That and the DVR.

I think Amanda Bynes is one of the (very) few Hollywood teens who ISN'T on some sort of downward spiral. I actually really enjoy her movies. I recommend She's The Man, and the one where she goes to England to find Colin Firth.

No kids here, but my middle-aged self loves "13 Going on 30". I know it has more adult issues in it, but they're pretty tastefully handled, and Jennifer Garner is adorable. The "Thriller" scene alone makes it worth watching!

rb.... I'm an old lady and I guess I just didn't understand the humor.

That's not to say it was a bad movie, it just wasn't MY type of movie.
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Does anyone remember "The Never-ending Story" circa 1985 or so? I loved watching that with my wanta-be nephews (yet, another relationship gone bad, so I never actually got to be their Aunt!).
Anyway, I absolutely loved and still love it! Highly recommended for sure! Happy Weekend All, K.

You think you are an insomniac now? Wait for menopause. The insomnia is my enemy, lemme tell ya. I thouhgt it was bad in my 30s, but it's gotten much worse.

Movies on demand and the Sci-Fi channel? Thank you, Jesus.

The nice long walk thing is good if you live in a piece of geography where it's cool at night. I used to take long walks for the insomnia years ago, but after two serial killers in our neighborhood in the space of two years, I don't do the beloved night-walk anymore.

Of course, I could maybe call Doberman Rescue again. I love me a Dobie.

Love me some On Demand. But I have to be careful, otherwise when the cable bill comes... O_O :shock:

I'll have to check it out for when my Girly is a bit older. I really liked Drew Barrymore in Ever After. A retelling of Cinderella. She's strong, smart and it doesn't hurt the her Prince Henry (he actually has a name in the movie) is yummy, delicious.

Oooo! I loved Ever After! Dougray Scott (the actor playing Prince Henry) is such eye candy! But the whole movie was pretty much appropriate for all ages. Something you hardly see any more now. (Ever After came out in 1998)

I thought it was a really good retelling of Cinderella.

Your on demand is cheap! Movies on mine are all $4.99 or $5.99.

I'm definitely going to check out "Sydney White", my daughter is 5 but she loves stories like that. Of course, she also loves superhero movies too... she's a movie buff, we go to the theater all the time. As for recommendations, we watched "Aquamarine" together and found it very charming. She's crazy for mermaids!

For nice mom in Disney film: Aurora's mom, Simba's mom, 101 Dalmatians mom, Mulan's mom, Dumbo's mom, Meet the Robinson's mom, The Incredibles mom.

My daughter and I really enjoyed another Amanda Bynes movie. "What a Girl Wants". The answer to that is -a dad! In this case it was Colin Firth.

Mother of sons here--and they're all grown up. But I recently Netflixed "Legally Blonde" and was impressed with how it teaches the lesson that being attractive to men is NOT ENOUGH and that a girl has to get a good education and establish a career path to be independent and feel good about herself. (The sequel is crummy, though.)

i never use MOD because i adore the DVD extras - listening to the director talk about making the movie, the behind the scenes interviews and deleted scenes.

when my divorce induced insomnia kicks in, i watch my tivo recordings of desperate housewives and grey's anatomy. and i'm renting the old black and white classics from blockbusters - casablanca, on the waterfront, etc..

and i read blogs ;0)

My girls, ages 12.5 and 8, don't go in for Hannah Montana or any of that phony disney type stuff, they like adult artists much better(ok, they do enjoy iCarly on Nick and the show with Ned in it).

They LOVE the Jim Henson Storyteller series though. We have both the Fairy Tales and the Greek Myths. As far as movies go, they don't typically sit still that long but enjoy all the Star Wars movies, all the LOTR movies, and one called The Secret of Roan Inish. Its an Irish movie set in the 1940s about a girl who lost her mother and brother and had to move in with her grandparents. She and a cousin go out fishing and end up back on the island where they all used to live. She discovers her little brother is alive and being taken care of by a family of Selkies. It is a sweet story, I could watch it every day. There is even eye candy(besides the jaw-dropping scenery) in the form of John Lynch and his beautiful sister Susan. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Molly

If you haven't seen Enchanted, I highly recommend it. It's Disney, skewering Disney. Very funny.

THANKS! I am always looking for appropriate movies for my 11-going-on-16-yr-old daughter; we'll check it out!

I'm a Disney addict, and I'm 30-something. Shameful, I know. I discovered "Life with Derek" earlier this year and I watch it almost every night before I go to bed.
I don't know how we survived w/o DVRs/TiVo and Movies on Demand.

Jo,
Thanks for the info on the history of fairy tales, I find it all very interesting. Beth

"Middle aged"??? No way, you are still a spring chicken...

Movies on Demand rock!!!

@Kalieris, I second this!
"What's the difference between finding movies for girlchildren and boychildren?"

Laurie, please don't perpetuate a stereotype by saying girls need different lessons than boys.

It's not at all that boys and girls need different lessons --- it's simply that they tend to have different tastes in stories.

That's not a stereotype, it's just reality.

Someone else said it - you are nowhere near middle-age. That has to be true since i am 53 and consider myself just entering that phase (it starts at menopause, right? 50 is the new 40?) I forward your site to all my friends, it brightens my day beyond belief some days, and I adore your kitties. They are nothing to be ashamed of. I have a kitty, a dog (rat terrier) and 4 rates. Talk about being sexy! If a guy can't handle that then he's just not worth messing with.

PS - I love Disney movies. So do my 19 and 27 yr olds - they always have. We used to travel up north with a portable TV in the van and play and replay and replay...

Just want to say I think you're one cool gal. I'm divorced too, I just learned to knit a few years ago. I mostly tat tho, you are welcome to check out my blog if you don't know what tatting is. I love your stuff here and plan on buying your book, it sounds hilarious.

Sydney White is popular at our house! My 13 year old daughter loves Amanda Bynes. Been watching her ever since The Amanda Show. Another movie that she loves that I haven't seen mentioned is Ella Enchanted, with Anne Hathaway. It's a good one.

Another Napoleon Dynamite fan delurking to say that there are limited tween movies that are actually worth watching.

And I'm with you on the 3 a.m. insomnia, teevee movie watching is the best remedy for that...You are definitely not the only one!

Tiffany, Maryse: I loved "She's the Man" too (I'm 38)...did you know it's a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"?

So, you were enjoying Shakespeare... ;-)

WEIRDNESS: I took a personal day today and wanted a movie for ME so I got. . . at my bil's rec. . . "Sydney White". I loved it, and was thinking that I like Amanda Bynes because she isn't all sexy girly (esp in that movie), but she's not stick skinny and she's usually made to be a truly dimensional girl. AND now my sons are watching it: yeah, they love the dorks, but they're rooting for her. And they're 11 and 14!!!! APparently it is a "Sydney White" kind of day!

For some reason, Oxygen (or was it WE?) appears to be trading movies with the Disney channel!

This weekend, I saw 2 movies that I thought would be great for teen girls. First is "What a Girl Wants", which is a kind of frothy fairy tale, but enjoyable, with a few serious issues. Amanda Bynes is predictably adorable, and it's got Colin Firth (SLURP!!) as her dad.

I also saw "Saved!", which is a bit iffier. It's about a girl who's a student at a very strict church school, and gets pregnant. Issues addressed include sex (obviously), homosexuality, hypocrisy, parenting, and tolerance. No sexy scenes, but lots of salty language. Not everyone's cup of tea when it comes to what your kids view, but I really liked it - it's very funny, with good performances. And it doesn't mock Christianity - just a lot of the avowed Christians who ruin it for everybody else.

If you've ever seen "But I'm a Cheerleader!", which is about a girl who finds out she's gay and is shipped off by her family to be "cured", it's kind of the same way - but gentler and with a better cast.

My girls are 10, twins. I endure their crushes on such 'stars' as Hannah Montana and the like. Don't encourage it but roll with it. Not a huge influence I hope, prefer to focus on those near and sometimes dear to them.

My mantra is whether it be a friend (or a future boyfriend) no one deserves to treat you badly. If a friend (sigh, one in particular) consistently treats you badly she is NOT a good friend. 'You have plenty others that treat you with the respect, courtesy and the kindness you deserve.'.

For me that is the bottom line. My daughters have been conditioned (brainwashed?! ;) to understand they deserve as much kindness and respect as they put out there. Accepting less is not tolerable..

Hard seeing them learn this lesson for themselves but hoping it helps them when they are older and in more grown up relationships with men and women.

We deserve all that we put out there. I consider myself a kind and caring person. I expect the same from others dammit! Whatever tv or the movies try to tell them..

I'm 50+ and my daughter is 24, and we both enjoyed Sydney White. It was a fun, "don't have to think about it afterwards" movie. I have to say that I love What a Girl Wants, too. What's not to like about Colin Firth?