This Film Is Not Yet Rated is scheduled to be released on DVD January 23rd. This is one film I've been eager to see. In case you haven't heard about it yet, this documentary by Kirby Dick does some digging into the top-secret MPAA ratings system and even attempts to find out the identities of the secret-decoder-ring-wearing MPAA ratings board members.
The documentary asks whether Hollywood movies and independent films are rated equally for comparable content; whether sexual content in gay-themed movies is given harsher ratings penalties than their heterosexual counterparts; whether it makes sense that extreme violence is given an R rating while sexuality is banished to the cutting room floor; whether Hollywood studios receive detailed directions as to how to change an NC-17 film into an R, while independent film producers are left guessing; and finally, whether keeping the raters and the rating process secret leaves the MPAA entirely unaccountable for its decisions.
The MPAA also provided a little comic relief when it got caught with its hand in the cookie jar and admitted to making 10 copies of the movie to distribute to board members without the filmmakers permission. You gotta love it.
