Over the summer, we showed the girls the trailer for The Martian and they were both dying to see the movie. It hit all their buttons - science, outer space, adventure, danger, and humor (Magdalena couldn't get enough of the "in your face, Neil Armstrong" joke in the trailer). Jeremy and I saw the movie in the theater last autumn and it broke my heart that while I knew they would LOVE the movie on so many levels, on a few other levels, I would never let them see it, for content reasons (mostly language).
We considered renting it anyway and doing a self-edit of some key language moments. And I think we really would have, and been ok with it, except then I heard about VidAngel. If you remember CleanFlicks, it's that, again, but streaming and customizeable and...legal. (If you don't remember CleanFlicks, just know that it was a video-editing service back in the days of VHS.) VidAngel sells a movie to you temporarily, which means you can apply any kind of content filter you like while you own it. Then you can sell it back automatically for the price you paid, minus a buck or two.
Tonight, we watched The Martian on VidAngel with our girls. I used the filters to edit out all the cursing and a bare bum (nonsexual...but still; I left in the self-surgery part) and I loved being able to sit back on the couch and not worry about pressing mute or fast-forward. The girls were just as enthralled with the movie as I thought they'd be (Magdalena was a little over-enthralled - she held on to me so tight during the suspenseful scenes!) and I got to watch their little girl brains process the idea of scientists and mathematicians and physicists and space travel and thinking on your feet and what people will do to help another person.
This is not a sponsored post or anything, BUT: if you do want to try out VidAngel, do so by clicking on this link. If something like five people watch a movie, then I get some purchase credits. Be sure to read about the whole buy-back thing - it really does end up being $1 or $2 to watch a movie, but the way they go about it is not especially intuitive. Also, I did not have to use a VPN - the site does not seem to care that I am outside of the US.
Now go watch The Martian with your kids, because science!
