Roar MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: -1 Content: +2

Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith, Noel Marshall. Directed by Noel Marshall.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Roar follows wildlife preservationist Hank (The Exorcist producer Noel Marshall in his one and only role as actor and director), a scientist who literally lives with a menagerie of over 100 untamed animals, including cheetahs, elephants, lions and tigers on a preservation in the African plains. When his wife and children arrive (real-life wife Tippi Hedren, (The Birds), and teenage step-daughter Melanie Griffith (Working Girl), plus two non-famous sons) for a visit, a long-brewing battle for dominance between the lions erupts and threatens their very lives.

PREVIEW REVIEW: Made in 1981, Roar proves that awful movies never die; they just linger quietly unnoticed, like the shingles disease, waiting their turn to erupt upon unknowing victims. Meant as a sort of preservation statement, this “comic” look at a wife and kids visiting their estranged husband/father, falls short of being either amusing or informative.

Ms. Hedren and her husband, Noel Marshall, took 11 years and spent over $17 million on this plagued attempt at family adventure with a cause. Sadly, little is said to give any documentary-like credence to the fate of animals in the wild and the humor extends no further than people trying to dodge curious jungle cats.

After recently seeing Part 2 of Paul Blart, Mall Cop, I wonder why a studio or theater chain would re-release Roar. We obviously have enough bad movies from this decade.

DVD Alternatives: March of the Penguins. Warner Independent Pictures and National Geographic Feature Films bring a fascinating documentary to the screen about penguins, raw nature and survival. In the Antarctic, every March, the quest begins for penguins to find the perfect mate and start a family. This courtship begins with a long journey – a trek that will take hundreds of the tuxedo-suited birds across seventy miles of frozen tundra to a location where the courtship will begin.

Bears.Disneynature’s documentary Bears follows an Alaskan bear family as its young cubs are taught life's most important lessons.

Disney’s Earth. A documentary narrated by James Earl Jones, Disney’s Earth tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their journeys across this planet we share.

Disney’s Oceans. Nearly three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, and Oceans boldly chronicles the mysteries that lie beneath.

Of course, if you’re just looking for a bad movie to laugh at, instead of Roar, try Plan Nine from Outer Space. Made by a wanna-be director, this tale of space aliens attempting to keep Earthlings from destroying the universe is considered to be the worst film of all time. Believe me, Ed Wood could have taught aspiring filmmakers something about bad craftsmanship.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Cheetah