I can't think of a movie I've been looking forward to more this winter than "Blue Valentine," a harrowing end-of-a-relationship drama starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. It's a movie that's received high praise on the film festival circuit, stars Ryan and is already garnering tons of Oscar buzz. Did I mention it stars Ryan Gosling?
So you can only imagine my absolute disgust and dismay when I learned via Deadline that the Motion Picture Association of America (who I've always had my issues with, just watch the doc "This Film Is Not Yet Rated") gave the film the dreaded NC-17 rating.
Why's this a problem, Crushers? Well, for one, the NC-17 rating is nothing short of the kiss of death for a movie. Audiences rarely flock to films with that rating, and advertisers won't go anywhere near it (in short, no TV ads run, therefore, no one knows when it opens).
But, what's most troublesome about the rating is how little the film deserves it. It seems that the NC-17 has been given because of an intimate, and, granted, ultimately pretty upsetting, sex scene between the two leads (the actors talked about it last month with W magazine). I don't know about you guys, but I've seen some seriously disturbing horror movies over the past few years. How certain parts (parts being the operative word) in something like, say, "Hostel" don't earn it an NC-17, but a sex scene in an indie drama like "Blue Valentine" does is seriously baffling.
I'm sure (and, yes I hope) the film will ultimately get an R rating with some slight editing. It would be a shame for audiences to miss out on what's bound to be a great film because of some seriously flawed logic.
Are you just as shocked to find out "Blue Valentine" got such a harsh rating, Crushers? Let us know!
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