‘Blue Valentine’ NC-17 Rating Overturned

Earlier we posted an article about Harvey Weinstein and his appeal to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to reverse the rating for his film, Blue Valentine. The NC-17 rating bewildered

not just Weinstein, but many festival-goers and film critics who’d had the chance to see it. Many worried that the more explicit rating would have hampered chances for Oscars, distribution and the film’s overall potential.

It was announced December 8^th that the MPAA appeals board had reversed the decision with The New York Times reporting that the vote was unanimous. Blue Valentine will be released December 31^st with an R rating.

The initial ratings board is made up of a “random” group of parents with no film background who rate movies based on how they think the “average” parent would rate them. The appeals board is made up of “industry professionals,” many coming from big name production companies or large theater chains. All of this information is on the ratings board’s website (www.filmratings.com).

Weinstein won an important battle, in my opinion, one that helped reveal inconsistencies and shortcomings of a ratings board that does best when determining if a film should be G or PG but struggles when it comes to films with adult content.