Flintstones, Meet the Flintstones - who have been given a new life and attitude, with technical wizardry determined to take this primitive cartoon into the next millennium.

Using many scenarios familiar from the original scripts, space alien The Great Gazoo (Alan Cumming) is sent to Earth to study human mating habits. Bumping into Fred (Mark Addy) and Barney (Stephen Baldwin) during their pre-marriage days, he wonders how these two "dumb-dumbs" will ever mate -- with each other. Fortunately Fred and Barney are smart enough to know they need girls and set out to find dates.

Ending up at the local burger joint, they meet the enchanting Betty (Jane Krakowski) and her friend Wilma (Kristen Johnston). Wilma becomes enamored with Fred, a mere dino operator, much to the horror of her mother (Joan Collins) who insists she marry the handsome casino tycoon, Chip Rockefeller (Thomas Gibson). But Chip is willing to concede his loss and offers the foursome a free trip to Rock Vegas at his resort. Fred sees the trip as an opportunity to win big and buy Wilma the engagement rock of her dreams.

Diehard fans will recognize Wilma's overbearing mother (although now she's rich), Dino's need for a leash, and Fred's gambling addiction ("...bet, bet, Bet, BET!"). However, something parents won't recall from the original series is the inclusion of little sexual innuendoes. Although mild (Barney: "Betty wants to come over tonight and cook me breakfast... Gee, I wonder what we'll do while were waiting 'till then?"), it seems producer Bruce Cohen (credited for the steamy American Beauty), and the writers (who penned the sex-drenched teen flics Can't Hardly Wait and A Very Brady Sequel) forgot that both couples spent their TV lives sleeping in twin beds.

While the sets and effects were amazing, children may lose interest with the script's focus on romance. Considering the noted references of premarital sex along with Vegas related scenes of gambling, drinking and showgirls (including Fred and Barney in drag), parents may opt to put this movie on the rocks until it's available on video where it can be more easily previewed.

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Talk about the movie with your family...

In reality, Fred's attitudes toward gambling would become a serious problem. Discuss how his and many of the other characters' attitudes' are based on greedy desires.

Rod Gustafson

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