Films That Barely Got by with a PG-13 (1 Viewer)

[Hunter P]

There are a lot of PG movies from my youth that have nudity and there's nothing wrong with that.

I recently saw Kung Fu Hustle and I didn't think it deserved an R rating.

 

[Cory H.]

There's no need to get upset, John. Apparently the sarcastic smilie didn't quite get across the flighty nature of the comment. While the nature of the remark may be old, if enough people use it, then apparently it stands to reason.

My signature has since been scaled down, and the spelling mistake, which you obviously used as retaliatory fodder,(I spell that right? ) removed.

 

[JohnRice]

I've never seen it in regards to that movie, so no, it doesn't stand to reason. I was referring to the "clever" use of statements like that in general.


And yes, I was being sarcastic.


Back to the topic at hand.

 

[TheLongshot]

I don't know. Some aspects of "The Frighteners" are pretty intense.

A movie I really think didn't deserve the R rating was "Almost Famous". To this day, I really don't understand why it got the R.

Jason

 

[GeorgePaul]

Last of the Mohicans (1991). An R rating, for a glimpse of Wes Studi holding up something that kinda looked like a heart? That seemed a bit picky to me.

On the opposite end of the spectrum--not to mention from another era--that primo Steve McQueen film Papillon gets by with a PG even though there are graphic depictions of homosexuality, cut throats and vomiting.

 

[Ryan L. Bisasky]

from screenit.com
Profanity is rated as extreme due to the use of at least 29 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered.
for the most part, the mpaa only lets pg-13 movies 1 f word, maybe 2 if there isn't alot of other stuff in it, and there is drug use, which is also R material.

 

[Brandon Conway]

There's other violence that may have contributed, including the shot of the blade going through the body of Magua (a shot that is removed form the director's cut). And there's enough of Duncan being burned alive to probably prevent a PG-13.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I'm not quite as harsh on the MPAA as Roger Ebert tends to be, but I do think they're inconsistent sometimes.

I think the main problem is people's (including, at times, MPAA members') perception of the ratings. Different people are offended by different things, and they tend to be amazed that the one thing that they're most offended by got by with a certain rating.

I think it's also people's perception of what kind of movie their watching; sometimes they don't even check the rating. Parents that were a little shocked at the mild profanity in Antz and The Iron Giant may not have even realized that they were rated PG. And yet, I wonder how many live-action movies they've let their kids watch that had more.

Still, I do think the MPAA have dropped the ball at times. I haven't seen too many recent movies that I thought were rated too low, but one exception was Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was actually intended by the filmmakers to be PG, but which inexplicably got a G. The "Hellfire" number alone should have assured a PG.

As far as ones that were rated too high, I thought PG-13 would have been enough for the director's cut of Amadeus, and Whale Rider should have been PG (there've been far less subtle "drug references" in some PG movies).

 

[JeremyErwin]

You probably mean MPAA_film_rating_system.

Why would 2001, a film about a homicidal computer, get rated 'G'?

 

[Brandon Conway]

Yes, I meant the longer article, but that's the jumping off point at least.



Because "G" means for General Audiences, not for Babies and Toddlers.

 

[TheLongshot]

Which is why I think the rating system is next to useless. People assume a certain rating means a certain thing, then get surprised when it is inconsistant. I think we should have a rating system that actually describes what is in the film, so that people can actually judge whether or not a film is appropriate.

Jason

 

[JonBoriss]

Lost in Translation doesnt deserve the R except for the long sequence in the strip club with lots of naked women with the song "Fuck the Pain Away" by Peaches playing which features alot of cursing.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Or it once did, anyway. Now, serious filmmakers, such as Robert Altman aim for an 'R', just to keep the rifraff away.

 

[Brandon Conway]

My point exactly, Jeremy.

 

[John Kilduff]

I was watching my copy of "The Pick-Up Artist" earlier this morning (yes, it's past midnight on the East Coast) and I heard a reference to female ejaculation. I had no idea you could get away with that in a PG-13 movie.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

It was viewed on VHS. Note to self: Pick up DVD of the movie as soon as possible.

 

[Michael Martin]

I think "Last of the Mohicans" - one of my absolute favorite films - deserved its R rating. The violence is brutal and graphic; while not horror-movie graphic, there are scalpings, a heart being cut out of a living man, clubbings, and more. I remember being nearly shocked by the violence when I saw it - not because it was out of place or wrong, but because it was not as sanitized or softened as a lot of mainstream Hollywood films.

Chalk me up with those that think Titanic really pushed the edge, for the sketch scene AND the scene in the Renault in the cargo hold.

Another recent film I think flirted with R (at least IMNSHO): Return of the King. Smeagol's strangling of Deagol was very disturbing (as it was meant to be), but the way it was filmed and scored made it scary and intense. And while the Battle of the Pelannor Fields wasn't as graphic as Saving Private Ryan, the sheer number of those killed and trampled makes it pretty rough.

 

[WillG]

Well, one character nearly dies on camera because of a Quualude overdose. There is a lengthy on camera sequence of Russel tripping on Acid. Don't forget the colorful term used for oral by Penny Lane and the shot of her dancing around topless (breif, but doesn't help the case for PG-13). Oh yeah, the implication that a minor was "deflowered" by Groupies.....excuse me... "Band Aids"

Even without the numerous F-words, Almost Famous did deserve the R Rating.

 

[TheLongshot]

That wasn't in the theatrical cut, BTW.

Personally, while they never denied such things were going on, I always thought Crowe did a nice job dancing around it, and keeping the innocent view of the main character.

Personally, I have no problem with a 13 year old seeing the film on their own. Problem is, the ratings don't really give that option to the parents. I'd rather the ratings give the responsibilities back to the parents to judge what is fit for their children, rather than them deciding for us.

Jason

 

[WillG]

It was there. I remember it from when I first saw the film on the original DVD before the "Untitled" edition was released.

 

[Kevin Grey]

Yup, the theatrical cut is the only one I've seen and I remember the scene.