The Bottom Line
Documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick (Twist of Faith, Showgirls: Glitz & Angst) takes on the nefarious and powerful Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), whose ratings (from G to NC-17) can determine the commercial viability of a film.
Pros
- The film makes some valid points about the unfair and capricious nature of the MPAA ratings system.
- The private investigators hired by the filmmaker are fun to watch at work.
- Some of the actor and director interviews are fascinating.
- The film features a brilliant two-minute cartoon ridiculing various MPAA rating terms.
Cons
- The film's overall tone tends to be whiny and excessively melodramatic.
- The film lacks structure, flow, and a sense of purpose.
- The film spends too much time chasing down irrelevant personal details about ratings board members.
- The film naively frames government censorship as an acceptable alternative to the MPAA.
Description
- 97 minutes. Stars Kirby Dick (director/narrator/interviewer), Eddie Schmidt, and Kirsten Johnson.
- Features private investigators Becky Altringer, Cheryl Howell, and Lindsey Howell.
- Includes interviews with figures such as Darren Aronofsky, Maria Bello, Lawrence Lessig, Kevin Smith, and John Waters.
- No MPAA rating. Includes profanity and strong sexual content.
- Released on September 1, 2006.
Guide Review - Review: 'This Film is Not Yet Rated'
As a work of activism, This Film is Not Yet Rated has been extremely successful--galvanizing industry opposition to the MPAA ratings system and even prompting some modest internal reform. As a work of pure entertainment, it tanks--the two-minute cartoon, walking the audience through the MPAA's ratings system in hilariously graphic fashion, is the only part of the 97-minute film that really flies by.
As a documentary, it represents a noble but unsuccessful effort. The filmmaker does a fine job of reviewing the sexist, homophobic, and pro-megacorporate biases of the MPAA ratings board by interviewing actors and directors who have been affected by these biases, and these interviews plus the two-minute cartoon would make a really good 30-minute documentary.
But the film focuses more on two plots that aren't really all that interesting or useful:
As a documentary, it represents a noble but unsuccessful effort. The filmmaker does a fine job of reviewing the sexist, homophobic, and pro-megacorporate biases of the MPAA ratings board by interviewing actors and directors who have been affected by these biases, and these interviews plus the two-minute cartoon would make a really good 30-minute documentary.
But the film focuses more on two plots that aren't really all that interesting or useful:
- A squirm-inducing attempt to reveal personal details about every member of the MPAA ratings board by following the members around town, eavesdropping on their conversations, and so forth. (Though the private investigators, Becky Altringer and the Howells, almost redeem this segment--they could easily headline an A&E reality series.)
- A lengthy and somewhat self-indulgent walkthrough of the difficulties that Dick and his team encountered when they appealed the MPAA's NC-17 rating for an earlier draft of the film.
