P&G Productions has another heartwarming family hit on their hands with TRUTH BE TOLD airing Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 8/7c on FOX. The show is aimed at kids, but incorporates enough romantic comedy elements to keep mom’s interest. Even dad will enjoy the ATV action, horse riding and helicopter stunts. Not to mention the cameo appearance by Super Bowl XXXIV MVP Award Winner and likely Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner.

Attractive and available, Annie Morgan (Candace Cameron Bure: Full House and Make It Or Break It) is a marriage counselor who bends the truth in order to land the radio talk show of her dreams. After convincing Mark Crane (David James Elliott: JAG and Scoundrels) to join her for the sake of his community program that’s in desperate need of sponsorship, the two head off with Mark’s kids in tow to a Texas ranch in order to convince an eccentric station owner (Ronny Cox: Stargate SG-1 and Beverly Hills Cops) to make both of their dreams come true.

Filled with comical misunderstandings and a truth desperate to surface, the antics continue with touching heartfelt moments salted in. By the end of the film, everyone who participated in any form of lie or withholding of their true self from others, realizes that the only solid marriage is one based on truth.

There is instant chemistry between Annie and Mark that keeps the audience cheering for their future throughout the story. By the time everything appears to be going plan perfect, American Idol Season Eight finalist, Danny Gokey, has a performance cameo that stirs the heart of Annie, shutting down the falsehoods. Everyone’s joy quickly dissipates and all return to their normal life, until a plot twist rekindles the audience’s desires for a happy ending.

While I’d admit there were a few slow moments worth stepping away for popcorn, the story painted a wonderful hope for kids to look forward to marriage and adhering to the high moral of always being honest and telling the truth.

The film was directed by one of my all time favorite television directors, Jonathan Frakes. While most know him for his work in Star Trek, I adored his family film Clockstoppers. I’ve also admired his directing work in episodes of Leverage, NCIS: Los Angeles, Burn Notice, The Good Guys, Castle, V, and Dollhouse. He is one of the few professionals that doesn’t treat wholesome stories with contempt.

But see for yourself — Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 8/7c on FOX. And, let me know your thoughts.

I found it peculiar that Sony, known for its comic book action franchises like Spiderman and Men in Black, decided to release The Green Hornet in January. Everyone knows that action hero films are released in May – July in a frenzy of summer box office hits. Then it dawned on me. The folks at Sony probably couldn’t figure out how to market the film and didn’t want to risk a summer slot.

I can picture the lead marketing guy trying to figure it out. “Hmm, we have a great comedic lead in Seth Rogen (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), so it must be a comedy. But, the franchise definitely fits in the action, crime, thriller, type genres. And, director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) is clearly a more heady feature documentary type director that can get too ethereal at times when he’s not shooting a music video.”

What a combination.

For those who love Rogen’s humor, they’ll enjoy the film half of the time. Those desiring some great comic book action will enjoy the other scenes. However, for those who want to just escape and not think at all, they’ll enjoy the entire film – But, might not be able to explain the plot afterwards.

That is not to imply bad writing, as the story was well crafted by Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad). The two make a great comedy writing team, but in this case their brilliant comedy was convoluted in a plethora of action sequences to fulfill the needs of the comic book genre.

The real question for Sony is, “What were you thinking?”

Sony executives must have been reminiscing about the late 60s when the hit action-adventure/sitcom Batman became an overnight success and attempted to spin-off a more serious action-adventure Green Hornet. Since the Green Hornet didn’t succeed past its first season, Sony must have thought it would have fared better with the sitcom mix like Batman, because that is exactly what this film is.

In a time when a more serious Batman re-boot was successfully launched by Christopher Nolan, it takes a lot of guts for Sony to go retro and give The Green Hornet a shot at reviving the late 60s fad that has never been successfully replicated. With The King’s Speech growing by word of mouth and True Grit holding its ground, it will be interesting to watch where The Green Hornet lands at the box office, especially with chick-flick slots approaching.

If you’re looking for a good show for the entire family to watch, I recommend you tune in to Change of Plans, starring Brooke White (American Idol), Joe Flanigan (Stargate Atlantis) and Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 8/7c on FOX.

Brooke White does a great job playing the role of Sally Danville, a free-spirited singer headed out for a vacation with her fighter-pilot husband. That is, until her best friend from college dies in a tragic accident and names Sally as the legal guardian of her four kids – three adopted from third-world countries.

This “temporary” multi-cultural family puts Sally into a tail-spin as she quickly tries to learn how to parent kids from different cultures. The story takes several humorous paths and always circles back around to warm touching moments worthy of modeling good morals to young viewers.

While the experienced traveler will find some of the cross cultural moments a bit stereotypical, the clashes with our American culture speaks volumes about who we might find ourselves to be. It may even prompt some to choose to incorporate moral living into their lives.

Saturday’s premiere is the latest made-for-TV family movie sponsored by Walmart and Procter & Gamble. These two companies listened to America and decided to provide more wholesome entertainment for families, which is worthy of our support at a time when we’ve had the largest increase in profanity on TV since 2005.

According to the Parents Television Council there were 276 instances of f-words bleeped or muted in 2010, compared to 11 in 2005. Family Hour on television saw 111 of those f-words last year. Fox, who will be airing this wholesome show, had the highest increase (269%) in profanity from 2005 to 2010.

Instead of avoiding Fox in protest of their bad choices last year, I’ve found it’s important to support their good choices this year. Therefore, I highly recommend you tell your friends to watch Change of Plans, and flop on your couch with your family Saturday night to join in on the fun. In fact, for those hoping to turn the event into a family discussion, you might want to ask the following questions after the movie:

1. How can we help someone starting at a new school feel welcome?
2. When we meet someone from another culture, what can we do to understand their different ways of thinking and doing things?
3. Can you tell the difference between someone who loves you and someone who puts up with you?
4. Have you ever gotten angry when you loved someone who didn’t love you back?
5. Are we capable of sharing kindness to those who live a different lifestyle?

After you watch Change of Plans, I’d enjoy hearing what you have to say about it.