Officials of a national movie chain and major video outlets agree stricter enforcement of rules to keep children younger than 17 from watching R-rated movies won't have much effect on them.
And some Utah teens say the same thing -- they expect to continue to see R-rated films with little problem.When President Clinton -- as part of a crackdown on violence in films and videos -- recently called for tougher enforcement of restrictions on movies rated "R," Loews Cineplex released a statement saying it would "continue to train our employees on the most reasonable and fair methods of compliance with this policy."
Representatives of Loews Cineplex, which has eight multiplex movie theaters in the Salt Lake Valley, says the company's theaters routinely check photo IDs of teenagers and people who appear to be younger than 25.
But 16-year-old Adrienne Goodwin, Logan, said she has seen several R-rated films in Salt Lake theaters since she was 15 years old. Only once was she asked to produce a photo ID, and she was allowed into that movie after she called to ask her mother's permission. Goodwin fears this relaxed attitude might change with the now reinforced policy.
"I'd like to still go to the R-rated movies, but I'll just have to take someone who's 18, if they even allow that anymore," Goodwin said.
Teenagers interviewed by the Deseret News outside movie theaters last week said they don't take the new emphasis in enforcement seriously. Some believe they will still be able to get in, photo ID or no photo ID.
"I think they'll have their parents get them in, or they'll just sneak in," said Natalie Durham, 15, Sandy.
"It's easy to just buy a ticket for another movie and go into the R-rated one," said Brieann Duncan, 15, also of Sandy.
The voluntary rating system imposed by the Motion Picture Association of America allows anyone of any age to watch movies rated G, PG or PG-13, with some warnings for the latter two.
But the "R" in R-rated movies stands for "restricted," meaning that anyone younger than 17 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The restriction policy was adopted by the National Association of Theater Owners, representing 20,000 screens across the country. It calls for theaters to require young people to show photo IDs proving they are at least 17 to view R-rated films.
"I'd like to point out that it's not a new restriction, rather a reinforcement," said Mark Pascucci, senior vice president of marketing for Loews Cineplex in New York City.
"We support the president in his policies," said Larry Healey, manager of the Redwood Drive-In. "But nobody has (complained) about children getting into R-rated movies for many years now. We're a family-oriented business."
But a company's policies may not consistently filter down to all its employees.
Heather Paris tells of a time when she and her friends, then 16 and 17 years old, were asked for their IDs before they entered a Salt Lake-area movie theater. When they were unable to produce them, the person selling the tickets said they wouldn't be able to go to the movie. But when they mentioned the name of someone they knew who worked in the theater, they were let in.
"It was like, 'Come on in. Here's your tickets. Have some free popcorn,' " Paris said.
Hollywood and Blockbuster video stores have long made it a point not to allow children younger than 18 to rent R-rated movies.
When they sign up for video membership, parents can elect an option that will restrict their children from renting R-rated videos. Most video stores don't allow memberships to individuals under 18.
Still, the policy isn't entirely foolproof. "It's a good program, but nothing's perfect," said Stephanie Cota, a spokeswoman for Blockbuster in Dallas, Texas. "A few mistakes will be made."
And, if employees are suspicious, they can call a child's parents. "We had one kid set up under his parent's account to the point he couldn't even rent PG-13 rated movies, and we just laughed at him," said Marin Beck, a shift leader at the Olympus Cove Hollywood Video store.
"One lady even came in screaming that her son had gotten a rated-R movie, but her son was 18 and old enough to have his own card, so there was nothing I could do about it."
Repeated calls to other movie-theater chains were not returned.