Dads and apple bongs don't mix (at least not in my family)

I am on a whirlwhind moviegoing streak. Inspired by my deep and abiding love for Steve Carell, I braved the sticky floors and stupid people of a movie theater for the second time in a month and went to see The 40 Year Old Virgin. It was HI-larious, if a bit slow at times, (but, then again, I have the attention span of Paris Hilton faced with reading material). The MPAA rating for this movie is R because of "pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use," which are usually three of the main reasons I'd go to see a movie in the first place, except that I saw this movie with my dad.

Now, my dad is neither an old fart or a prude. He is, of course, MY DAD, and no one with any kind of normal, healthy parental relationship wants to see a movie with her father in which (spoiler alert!) a woman masturbates with a shower head. And given that my dad refers to joints as "marijuana cigarettes," the (ample) drug references were largely lost on him, and my hearty laughter during the aforementioned apple bong scene was met with a "and just how do you know what that thing is, young lady?" stare.

As a kid, my parents never shied away from letting my brother and I watch R-rated movies, which some may see as awesome, progressive parenting, but in actuality may not have been the best idea. In fact, I can recall my traumatized 8-year-old self screaming and bawling my way through Project X, a film in which cute little monkeys are nuked to death. I'm sure it was super fun for the other people in the theater, too. To my parents' credit, I must say that as a kid, if you encounter something sexual or scary in a movie that you don't understand, it's nice to have parents who are open to you asking questions about it.

When you're older, though, and the tables are turned and you know more about the illicit subject matter than your parent does, it's not so great. Not that my dad would turn to me and inquire just what, exactly, "back door action" was supposed to mean, but you know, it made for a somewhat creepy moviegoing experience. Still, Steve Carell rocks, and I can't wait for the new season of The Office.