Skipped Flicks- The River Wild

June is National River Month--and Father's Day

To celebrate his 10th birthday Roarke's mom, Gail is taking him white river rafting. His workaholic dad decides to join them at the last minute. Gail, played by Meryl Streep knows the waters well--being a former guide on this very river. That knowledge comes in handy when they meet some seedy looking fellows (Kevin Bacon and friends) who are just a tad too anxious to get down the river--at any cost. The murderous bad guys kidnap the family and force Gail to help them escape. Only Dad (David Strathairn) who's been left for dead, can save them now.

I loved this one, but really bad guys mixed with parents dogs and kids can be very tense indeed. Even though Streep plays a very strong, capable woman, it would have made my children scared and sick to see a regular family being worked over by these thugs. Kevin Bacon can be a really creepy dude. I'd say, River Wild has just the right amount of nail biting and white knuckle moments to make it a fabulous action film for 12 and older.

ClearPlay will clean up Mr. Bacon's mouth and a few other rough spots--where dad gets beat up and a river ranger is shot--for instance. Still plenty of white water after that.

Launi--Movie Mom--Life Jacket Patrol