Starsky and Hutch Parental Guidance Recommended

One recent Saturday, the family gathered for a Comcast On Demand family movie night. For the ambitious readers who still go out and rent movies, we are stationary slugs. Comcast has taught us that Blockbusters video is as far as the movie theatre. Like spoiled debutantes, we bickered over what movie to rent from our remote control. Diane wanted to see Starsky and Hutch, a cheese ball comedy starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Rated PG-13, I voiced mild objections that this movie could be inappropriate for our two younger children, who are three years younger than the suffix in PG-13. Diane overruled me and we ordered Starsky and Hutch through the live feed of a remote control. Parental guidance can be a split decision.

Back to our movie. The sexual content was not explicit but it had its fair share of adult references and two uncomfortable scenes. Diane kept prompting the children to turn their heads but our son seemed to be mighty interested in a cheerleader undressing in a locker room. I was torn between shouting comments like "At a boy" or "I told you this was inappropriate for younger viewers." I did neither. When our son kept perseverating "I got a funny feeling inside." I knew this particular movie rental was a bad decision even though my wife did not want to venture off of the trail of denial.

The following day, we took the family to South Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. South Street has an interesting medley of records stores, tattoo parlors, and street urchin squalor. The diversity of people and culture was evident in sight and sound. Though you would never catch me piercing my skin in an erogenous zone, the non-conformity was refreshing to see. We ate at Johnny's, the birth home of Larry Fine of the Three Stooges. The connection between good food and a stooge remains a mystery although one of our kids claimed their hamburger was just Fine.

Evidently, Starsky and Hutch had permanently imprinted on our son. We heard "I got a funny feeling inside." repeated more than once although it was far from the line of the day. While passing by a kitschy storefront, he asked his mother if can we go in that store and see what it is all about?

"What store?" clarified Diane.

"Condom Kingdom." He said with innocence and determination.

I asked my wife. "Are you regretting your decision to rent Starsky and Hutch?"