One of our biggest obsessions, and one of the biggest thorns in our side, has been the seemingly arbitrary (and discriminatory) MPAA rating system. As noted in the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, the system often results in artistic self-censorship while encouraging pushing the limits of crudity in the interest of selling tickets. A passionate sex scene without nudity can easily grab an R-rating for a foreign film, for example, while a non-stop barrage of sex jokes will earn garbage like Epic Movie a PG-13.
Variety reports that ,while stopping short of addressing many of these issues, the MPAA has been influenced to some degree by This Film Is Not Yet Rated and can only be seen as a step in the right direction. They will now warn parents that certain R-rated films are absolutely not for younger children, an acknowledgement that not all R-rated movies are equal and, in our opinion, basically making an R-rated category that's the equivalent of the "Adults Only" rating advocated by Roger Ebert. It remains to be seen whether mainstream cineplexes and newspapers will refuse to exhibit and advertise these R-rated films, as they currently do with the unworkable NC-17.
The MPAA also will allow filmmakers to use examples from other movies when appealing ratings, a key argument that This Film Is Not Yet Rated was unable to make when it was slapped with the NC-17. Our sister company TLA Releasing had similar issues with the MPAA, earning an NC-17 for Ma Mère due to "aberrant sexual content" that frankly wasn't any worse than what we saw in Basic Instinct 2.
The question that remains is, is this good for parents? Will this improve the system that's currently in place, leveling the playing field for indies and majors alike, or will Hollywood begin to pursue the harder R rating and create cinema that's even more exploitative than what's currently out there?
© TLA Entertainment Group
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