Whatever happened to really good movies?

...and do we really need all the bad language?

Oh, I know there are still some good movies being made...even perhaps some great ones. But they seem to be fewer and farther between, and even the good ones seem to contain a surplus of words that in the words of the old Kim Carnes song, would make a crow blush.

My friend Joel Griffith's post about an old movie he saw recently is what got me thinking along these lines. The movie--Remember Last Night? (1935) propelled his thoughts in a number of different directions, but one of them was the fact that such a movie could be made in a "clean" manner. Joel writes: "The dialogue is witty, sardonic and subtle. No swear words, no sex scenes. Not even really any blood. However, this film could not be made today in the same way partially because of political correctness and partially because the present generation doesn't find dialogue funny unless it would make The Happy Hooker blush."

How true! Now, over the weekend I watched The Godfather for the first time. (I had seen bits and pieces before.) Understand, I'm not saying there aren't very disturbing elements to this movie. But here's the amazing thing: There is not an F-word in this movie. Not one. In a movie about the Mafia. How on earth was this possible? (I'm told the sequels made up for lost profanity.)

A recent AP-Ipsos Poll found that most of us...even people who do swear occasionally...are tired of all the profanity: "Nearly 74 percent in an A-P-Ipsos poll last week said they come across swearing in public frequently or occasionally. Almost half say they swear a few times a week or more.

"...And the poll shows many people who swear themselves don't like to hear it come from other mouths. Two-thirds say it bothers them when others use profanity."

When it comes to entertainment, what's the solution? I have friends who have special programs that delete the swearwords, but the results are clunky and sometimes laughable.

I'm not willing to give up entertainment completely. I am a movie buff and I enjoy a good story, well-acted and well-produced. I also love to laugh. I suppose it's too much to ask of Hollywood to clean up its act (there's my cynicism coming through.)

There is the occasional news story that offers a glimmer of hope. Like the fact that Sharon Stone's erotic thriller, "Basic Instinct II" is bombing abysmally at the box office. Then again, "Brokeback Mountain" was waaaaay behind "The Chronicles of Narnia" in box-office sales, and that didn't seem to matter.

If you have suggestions for some really good movies that have minimal or no profanity, by all means, let me know!