Well Intended, But Late

From today's Inquirer Entertainment section...

First came the utterly crass (but rib-fracturing funny) movie Wedding Crashers.

Then came the Web site, with its interactive crasher kit. Inside a virtual briefcase, you clicked on a microphone to say a few words at the reception. Or the guide book containing the rules (No. 27: "Don't overdrink. The machinery must work in order to close."). Or the photo of a guy on top of Mount Everest - with the face blank so you could insert your own. And for the ultimate babe magnet, a make-your-own fake Purple Heart medal.

Then came the critics.

Not the esteemed film mavens who tell us how many stars or thumbs a movie merits. But the ones who determine where the line is drawn between good and bad taste.

They had no problem with rule No. 27. But the Purple Heart?

U.S. Rep. John T. Salazar (D., Colo.) was not amused.

Neither were the Vietnam Veterans of America.

"It is unconscionable to me - and is an insult to everyone who has served the nation in the military - to trivialize the Purple Heart in this way," Thomas H. Corey, the group's president and a medal recipient, said in a statement.

New Line Cinema responded: "We understand the sensitivity regarding the medal and did not intend to make light of its significance in any way."

Jokers who wear a faux medal to up their allure factor may be risking more than just offending real-life war heroes and their families.

Salazar is working on a bill, called "the Stolen Valor Act," that would make it a crime to pretend to have earned a medal.

I don't think Salazar had been elected to the U.S. Congress yet when the Repugs and their sheep followers were wearing those highly insulting band aids with a replica of what was supposed to be John Kerry's Purple Heart on them during their national hatefest/fear-and-smear show in New York City last year, but it's a shame no one in Congress took the lead at that time and made his commendable efforts unnecessary.