R-rated word has become PG-13 word

Here are some odds and ends that have lately been on my so-called mind:

AS WE ALL KNOW, R-rated movies often use the F-word repeatedly to little effect — not just as an expletive, but also as an adjective, preposition, adverb. ...

In the early '80s, I used to refer to it as the "Eddie Murphy Word" or "Bruce Willis Word"; in the '90s, the "Quentin Tarantino Word."

Now, the use of that most dreaded of cuss words casts a much wider net. It's even used one time in most PG-13 movies (including two that open today, "The Guardian" and "School for Scoundrels").

And as I've written before, that word has really kind of lost its punch because it's used so much. It's become boring and redundant and actually tends to undercut many of the movies in which it's overused. It's a cliche, a crutch to prop up weak writing.

But filmmakers continue to be quite proud of its usage — especially when it's thrown into a movie aimed at younger audiences, as if that will somehow make the film more appealing to an older crowd.

As an extreme example of this misplaced loyalty, two DVDs being released in October actually revel in the use of that word. Both DVDs are reissues, and both have featurettes that count out in a jokey fashion the number of times the expletive is used.

One is the 1983 "Scarface," in a new "Platinum" DVD edition. The featurette is titled "Scarface Scoreboard," described on the box this way: "Watch 'Scarface' like never before ... keep track of the number of times the 'F' word is used."

The other is "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," in a new "Unrated Director's Cut," with a featurette described on the box as, "A compilation of all of the film's expletives."

My, wouldn't either one make a lovely Christmas gift for Mom?

WHILE WE'RE ON the subject of DVD reissues, just how many is too many?

In the case of "Scarface," which has been released at least three times before in various DVD editions, it seems especially ridiculous because the most recent reissue was just last January!