"Flawed Carats"
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What You Need To Know:
In DIAMONDS, his newest movie since he suffered a stroke, actor Kirk Douglas plays Harry, a former boxing champ suddenly left defenseless by the loss of his beloved wife and the after-effects of a stroke. Harry has one last mission in life: to regain his independence and avoid an old folks home by hunting down the “magic diamonds” that a Reno, Nevada mobster once promised him for throwing a fight. In a final attempt at reconciliation, Harry’s estranged son, Lance, played by Dan Aykroyd, and Lance’s own estranged son, Michael, head for Reno to pick up the magic diamonds. Along the way, however, Lance decides it’s time Michael lose his virginity at a house of prostitution owned by Sin-Dee, played by Lauren Bacall.
DIAMONDS is an uneven mixture of strong sexual immorality and a pro-family message about restoring broken relationships. It also includes some strong foul language and brief marijuana use by Lance. The extended sequence in the house of prostitution is the most immoral section of the uneven DIAMONDS. It demonstrates that DIAMONDS is actually a celebration of a pagan lifestyle. Too bad Mr. Douglas could not have chosen a better script and a better director.
Content:
(PaPa, B, LLL, V, SS, NN, AA, DD, MM) Pagan worldview about following one’s sensual goals & living each day as if it’s your last, but mostly in a pagan sense, with some moral elements & a couple of positive references to God; 22 obscenities & 11 mostly strong profanities, plus discussions about sexual matters; mild violence such as chasing & beating up mugger to get back money, some fighting & boxing scenes & man waves gun at people; visit to house of prostitution where older teenager ultimately loses his virginity after several failed attempts, prostitute ties up man for fornication purposes & elderly stroke victim tries to bed four young prostitutes at a time but has problems until older madam helps him out; upper male nudity & prostitutes in lingerie; alcohol use & drunkenness; smoking & marijuana use; and, against his better judgment, father decides it’s time his teenage son loses his virginity & people use ill-gotten gains to get rich.
More Detail:
Kirk Douglas makes a fine, but flawed, return from his recent stroke in the new movie DIAMONDS, directed by John Asher from a script by Allan Aaron Katz. It’s basically a road picture that reminds one of HARRY AND TONTO with Art Carney, but it lacks the sweetness, emotion and positive moral qualities of that movie.
Douglas plays an old man named Harry who’s visited by his estranged son, Lance, played by Dan Aykroyd, and Lance’s own estranged teenage son, Michael, played by Corbin Allred. Harry is a former boxing champ suddenly left defenseless by the loss of his beloved wife (“God needed her more than we did” is written on her tombstone) and the after-effects of a stroke. Harry, however, has one last mission in life. He wants to regain his independence and avoid an old folks home by hunting down the “magic diamonds” that a Reno, Nevada mobster once promised him for throwing a fight.
Lance is his father’s polar opposite, a sensitive sportswriter still trying to win his old man’s love and respect. Ironically, Lance seems to have blown his own relationship with Michael, who prefers his mom’s new boyfriend. When Lance and Michael drive up to Canada to visit Harry, Lance clashes with Harry, and Michael clashes with Lance. In a final attempt at reconciliation, they all head to Reno to fulfill Harry’s quest for the magic diamonds.
Although the three men eventually discover their need for each other on their road trip, they make a visit to a house of prostitution. Harry convinces Lance that it’s time his 17-year-old son lose his virginity. At the house of ill-repute, Harry strikes up a relationship with the madam, Sin-Dee, played by Lauren Bacall. Harry eventually finds his diamonds and seems to establish a monogamous relationship with Sin-Dee, who apparently can now leave her immoral life behind her.
The extended sequence in the house of prostitution is the most immoral section of the uneven DIAMONDS, but it demonstrates a moral problem with the whole movie. Despite a couple positive references to God and their newfound commitment to each other, the main goal of Harry, Lance and Michael is to serve their own sensual desires. In addition to their sexual immorality and a brief scene where Lance smokes marijuana with his prostitute, they eventually use Harry’s ill-gotten gains to get rich. Thus, DIAMONDS is actually a celebration of a pagan lifestyle. Although Harry, in one of the final scenes, advises his son and grandson to always live each day as if it were their last, he means it mostly in a pagan sense. As usual, there’s an element of romanticism in all this (see the guide on Anti-Christian Worldviews on page 3). Only the movie’s pro-family message about family members working together to open lines of communication and restore broken relationships truly saves DIAMONDS from becoming completely evil. It’s too bad Mr. Douglas could not have chosen a better script and a better director to make his newest movie.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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