Rated X (2000)

Yes, it's rated X (or should be)

Emilio Estavez directed this, but one wonders why. It doesn't take a genius to realize that a movie about two porn movie directors is not going to win any Academy Awards. What was Emilio thinking? You can play it as tragedy. You certainly can't make heroes of these guys. I guess what he was thinking was this was a part of America from the sixties to the nineties in the twentieth century--this was the reality and let's tell the truth. But somebody else might say, why bother?

Most critics and viewers would call this a prize turkey, but...but is there some redeeming social value? Charlie Sheen and Estavez star as the brothers Mitchell, two entrepreneurial guys who stumble from the free love scene of the sixties in San Francisco to the cash cow of the first widely distributed porn movies, including the infamous "Behind the Green Door." Maybe there is a kind of free speech angle here, with the porno boys fighting the good fight against censorship and Big Brother. On the other hand, there is a didactic tale here about how success corrupts and how sex, drugs and rock and roll--forget the rock and roll; this is almost pure sex and drugs--how sex and drugs may lead you to make a movie called "Sodom and Gomorrah" which may suggest that you ought to be starring it in.

Charlie Sheen is very good and so is Estavez. His direction is also not bad. The movie moves right along and the degeneration of the brothers is well expressed. Megan Ward had a chance in a supporting role here, but she failed miserably, possibly because how could she feel any connection with a role that made her the quasi-tolerant, quasi-suffering wife of a man who makes his living pandering to lust (and indulging his own) while smoking, drinking and snorting anything he can get his hands on?

Not pretty. However, I wouldn't be surprised if someday in the distant future, long after I am gone, in some social science class at say Cal Berkeley this movie is played as augmenting an anthropological study of a certain segment of our population in the later part of the 20th century. The students can see this as a film documenting the moral corruption of a nation following Vietnam and the Nixon administration, perhaps even anticipating the moral corruption we see today.

But I would advise you to skip this unless you are a big Emilio Estavez fan, in which case this is a must see, or if you are a Charlie Sheen fan, and then it is worth seeing because this is one of his better performances--and it's amusing to see these guys in their bald domes and their side burns and authentic seventies attire. To be honest, I've seen people win Academy Awards who weren't half as good as Sheen was. Naturally this won nothing. May 8, 2007

Band of brothers.....

Real life mainstream actors/brothers Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen take on the amusing and twisted underground characters/brothers of Artie and Jim Mitchell in "RATED X".

Artie and Jim Mitchell were at the forefront of the San Francisco porn revolution in the early 70's. The owned their owned theater, made their own X rated films- and lived a life of abundant excess.

When they created/produced/wrote and directed "Behind the Green Door", they found themselves thrust in the spotlight - and made millions. Unfortunately, their success sufferd a serious backlash- and while some were able to pick up and recover - others only found themselves thrust deeper into a life a drugs, despair, and eventually murder.

The movie takes an unflinching look at a classic time in American Hostory, and the story of the Mitchell Brothers is quite amusing and saddening at the same time.

Great direction by Emilio Estevez and some fine acting by both actors (especially Sheen in the final half of the film) make this an entertaing "diamond in the rough".

Recommended! October 6, 2005

Entertaining DVD nicely sums up an era

This is another example of a product delivering a pretty good movie but a very good DVD. "Rated X" is watchable and engaging, but ultimately doesn't add anything new to the often-seen story of would-be movie moguls finally making it big but then being brought down by the excesses of the high life (in this case, cocaine). Of course, if that's what really happened to the Mitchell Brothers, I guess viewers can't complain much about seeing it all before. In any event, what puts this DVD over the top are the bonus materials: we get several generous interview segments with the Mitchell Brothers' famous discovery, Marilyn Chambers, who elaborates on the action in the movie (no pun intended), and equally generous interview segments with an assistant district attorney integrally involved with all the legal troubles the Mitchell Brothers had in their 1970's heyday. Between the movie and extras, one gets a comprehensive and satisfyingly entertaining snapshot of the characters in question and the overall mood of the era. July 5, 2005

Bad wigs

This movie could have been handled so much better. Doesn't help that the brothers Sheen wore terrible bald wigs which were so noticeable in parts it made the film so silly. Just keep your eye out for the really shiney moments when the wigs look so plastic. That aside, what is wrong with this film. Besides the fact it did nothing at the box office, the film just doesn't have enough punch to pull you in. I really felt nothing for any of the characters involved, and you need to be able to do this to appreciate a film.

The Sheen brothers team up again for this film (remember "Men at Work"?). Someone must have told them that they make a good combination, but I am afraid that this partnership couldn't save this film. February 25, 2004

Good til the end.

I saw it on cable and knew something about them but I didn't know that they were pioneers of the porn industry. They put a soft-core actress Marylin Chambers on the map. The brothers Artie and Jim Mitchell went through ropes with the government and the mob to produce their movies. Their personal lives are another story. Jim was a bachelor while his brother was twice married and divorced. Jim Mitchell was the brother who kept things afloat despite his drug use. His brother Artie, was into parties, guns, and sex. After the courts decided to end porn films, they went into the live sex business. However, Jim needed to get away which did him some good. He had to kick his drug habit once and for all. Meanwhile Artie who had a second wife and two sons was still destructive to himself.
Throughout the movie it was Jim who was his brother's keeper which he could no longer do. It's one thing to help a family member who will help himself. It's another when that member is destroying himself intently while hurting others around him. Artie felt like he was always in his brother's shadow. Jim, as always is there to protect him. Both Sheen and Estevez, real-life brothers, do a good job at portraying the characters and their attitudes. It is a good role for the both of them because Estevez has his head above the water like Jim, while Charlie Sheen has been known for being reckless and has a past drug history. This was a good role for the both of them. January 18, 2004

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