'Treasure Planet' is 'not a classic,' says Minow, 'but it's a really nice family film
that's really well done with lots to look at'

December 7, 2002
The Mother of All Critics

Washington attorney Nell Minow watches for corporate corruption by day and, as ‘Movie Mom,’ screens flicks for kids at night

By Steve Friess

Dec 6 - Fortune magazine has dubbed her “the CEO killer” for her early warnings—back in 2000—of mismanagement at Enron and Global Crossing. This month, SmartMoney named her one of the 30 most influential people in investing. But Nell Minow has another following, as well, though these fans are less interested in corporate malfeasance.

SINCE 1995, MINOW—by day the cofounder of The Corporate Library, an organization that provides critical thinking about the modern global corporation—has spent her evenings watching and reviewing films from a maternal viewpoint for her popular Web site, MovieMom.com. In 1999, she collected hundreds of her reviews for a book called “The Movie Mom’s Guide to Family Movies.” Currently, Minow, 50, can be heard every week dispensing film advice on 15 radio stations around the nation, and later this month, she’ll earn an even higher profile when her Web site is incorporated into Yahoo!’s movies section.

The married McLean, Va., lawyer has a 19-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter as well as a famous father, Newton Minow, who, as the first chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, coined the phrase “vast wasteland” to refer to television. Now, she says, her dad calls it a “toxic waste dump.” Minow spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Steve Friess about everyone from Martha Stewart to Eminem, as well as what flicks are safe for kids this Christmas. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Yesterday you spent your day as corporate watchdog and after work, screened “Analyze That.” How do you keep your roles straight?

Nell Minow: Actually, they’re pretty similar. Sometimes a movie that’s supposed to be very good is terrible, just like sometimes a corporation that should be a good investment isn’t. I was running a Q&A column for a now-folded Web site a while back and I got a letter from a mother. “My two-and-a-half-year-old knows how to work the VCR, and she still does it even when I tell her not to. What do I do?” And I said, “Somebody has to be the grown-up in your house. If you can’t make a rule in your house, you’re going to have a much bigger problem than videos.” And then I went to my office and read over the proposed contract from the CEO of Global Crossing, which included a Mercedes and first-class plane tickets for his mother. To me, it’s all the same thing. It’s all about accountability, integrity and taking responsibility.

What movies do you wish the folks from Enron would see?

My favorite corporate-governance movie is “The Solid Gold Cadillac,” a 1956 Judy Holliday film about a woman who has 10 shares of stock and ends up throwing out all of the corrupt executives. If you added a couple zeros to all the numbers in that film, it could have been made today. The moral is that ultimately corruption is uncovered. And lest you think that’s farfetched, in real life this year, the shareholders on a Yahoo! message board for Luby’s Inc. put together a proxy campaign resulting in the CEO being replaced. It can happen. The folks from Enron should also see “A Christmas Carol,” where they would discover money isn’t everything.

Is there anything Martha Stewart could learn from Harry Potter?

Harry Potter is unfailingly honest, consistently looks out for the interest of the community and puts himself at risk. That would be a good thing for Martha to learn. She also could learn how to fly away on a broom to get out of trouble.

What film character does recently resigned SEC chairman Harvey Pitt remind you of?

Harvey Pitt reminds me not so much of a movie character as a Shakespearean character. He’s a good man who had a fatal flaw. It’s a shame about his poor judgment in the Webster matter. It was arrogant. That’s the kind of flaw that takes a character that’s otherwise capable and honest and takes them down. In my own dealings with him, I found Pitt to be extremely constructive and principled.

What film do you wish George W. Bush would watch before attacking Iraq?

The longest movie he possibly can, to delay it. Or I might suggest he watch “M*A*S*H” or “The Red Badge of Courage,” because both of those movies are about the reality of being on the front lines, seeing the carnage and paying the price.

Let’s talk about current movies. How do you explain the incredible success this year of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”?

By quoting the people who sat in front of me when I saw it. They said, ’”It just goes to show you that every family is as crazy as ours.” It had a crazy family and a sweet love story. That always works.

Now that Eminem is a movie star, is he safe for children?

No, definitely not. His movie [“8 Mile”] is not for kids. The best thing I can say about a lesson from that movie—aside from following your dreams, which is the theme of about half of the films out there—is that having sex with someone does not necessarily mean you know them or that you have a relationship. Parents whose kids have gone to that movie should make sure they got that message.

You’re Jewish. What did you think of the current Adam Sandler movie, “Eight Crazy Nights”? And do you ever wonder why there aren’t more Chanukah movies?

This one may kill the idea forever. “Eight Crazy Nights” is an awful movie. I so feel like the Movie Mom when I see Adam Sandler. I always want to say, “Stand up straight and work a little harder. You can do much better than this. Call that nice Emily Watson girl [his “Punch-Drunk Love” costar] again.” This was poor judgment and irresponsible to make a cartoon that had so much potty humor and such unappealing characters and makes fun of people with physical deformities.

What’s the hidden gem at the movies this holiday season?

As for films out now, I liked “Treasure Planet” very much. It’s a shame that it won’t do very well, because then Hollywood will come back and say, “Well you see, we make these movies and nobody goes to see them.” It’s not a classic, but it’s a really nice family film that’s really well done with lots to look at. The hidden gem, although it’s not opening until January, is a serious, thoughtful, provocative movie called “Max,” which is about Hitler as a young man. That movie will not do well because people will be affronted by the premise. But I think it’s good to look at historical characters at turning points in their lives and think of how we would make our own choices.

Parents take their children to see movies all the time that are aimed at adults. What examples of that stunned you this year?

I’m stunned parents took kids to “8 Mile,” “The Ring” and “Eight Crazy Nights.” I don’t think they’ll thank you for that later in life. Some of this material is so damaging. When I was researching my book, it was amazing to me the number of people in their 20s who said they wished their parents had been more restrictive. Every person said they’d seen some movie they felt they were too young to see and that they were damaged by.

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