The Tale of the Bunny Picnic

The memory of the late Jim Henson and the Muppets he created is well-served by The Tale of the Bunny Picnic, from Columbia Tristar Home Video. The Muppet trio at the center of the story are the diminutive Bean, his dismissive older brother Lugsy, and their understanding sister Twitch. All three youngsters are eagerly awaiting the bunny picnic, a special gathering of lettuce-patch neighbors, but Bean is repeatedly told he is too little to help in the preparations. The unhappy rabbit wanders off as ordered and encounters a fearsome dog. When he tries to warn the others, he is dismissed as a tale-teller. Eventually, the older rabbits find themselves following Bean's plan to rid themselves of the hound. The video's moral is that those who hurt others end up hurting themselves, but it teaches other solid lessons about family life.

The Waterboy

Adam Sandler has an astonishing hold on millions of teens who happily take in his dim-bulb, often vulgar comedies. The Waterboy is the actor-writer's latest. This time, Sandler plays the clueless Bobby Boucher who for 18 years has served water to the rough and tumble players of Louisiana's best college football team, the Cougars. Finally, the nasty Coach Beaulieu (Jerry Reed) can't stand him anymore, and fires the sweet young man. Bobby shyly approaches Coach Klein (Henry Winkler), the hapless leader of the state's worst college football team, the Mud Dogs, for a job. Klein agrees and discovers that Bobby is also an astonishing tackle. Bucking the deep disapproval of his mother (Kathy Bates), Bobby joins the team, attends classes and romances the beauteous Vicki (Fairuza Balk). This hardly funny, slapstick comedy, marked by silliness and raunchiness, is not recommended.

U.S. Catholic Conference rating: adults

The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit

Based on a short story and play by Ray Bradbury, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit is lighthearted and slightly surreal. It is set in a romanticized version of predominantly Latino East Los Angeles, with its colorful wall murals, street population and poverty. But the story is more concerned with the effect that a gleaming white suit has on the aspirations of five Hispanic men who have been beaten down by life. The men, who are of a similar weight and build, pool their resources to buy the suit, and allot a specified time for each to wear it. The outfit broadens their horizons and gives them a new hope. The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit is blessed with the presence of some of the best Hispanic actors working today, who give special vividness to an unusual story.

— Loretta G. Seyer