Well, kind of like ‘A Lot Like Love’

While on a plane from Salt Lake to Baltimore Thursday, I had the – I almost typed “good fortune” but then had the good sense to stop myself – opportunity (yeah, that’s better) to pay a couple of bucks to watch the romantic comedy “A Lot Like Love.” I actually liked the film when it came out in theaters, so I might not have minded too much watching it again.

Which, to be honest, is what I did. I just didn’t pay the money to get the earphones that would have allowed me to hear it.

Anyway here’s the thing: The movie had been, as we were told upfront, “edited” for viewing on the airplane. So that meant that in the scene, barely 10 minutes into the film, where the characters played by Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet, join the “Mile High Club” – if you catch my drift – we never actually get to see Peet barge into the restroom to attack Kutcher. We just see her emerge, followed by him stumbling out a minute later.

OK, so what did that accomplish? I suppose that anyone who hadn’t already seen the film would have been able to figure it out (especially if they weren’t too cheap to pay for earphones). But still, it would have been confusing. And for those whom the editing was supposed to protect, wouldn’t it be clear to them, too, what happened? It’s not like there was any obvious nudity or anything.

It accomplished only this: Once again it demonstrated just how stupid the airline policy is about “editing” anything PG-13 and above for general audiences. We’re already “protected,” as it were, by the MPAA . So if the airlines are all that concerned, then they should show us nothing but G-rated films (“Finding Nemo” for the hundredth time) or TV sitcoms.

Or just not show any films at all. That way they might find the time to serve us better snacks. Or, in the case of some airlines , any free snacks at all.

Below: Amanda Peet stars with Ashton Kutcher in “A Lot Like Love.” (AP Photo)