- City Guides:
- New York
- San Francisco
- Chicago
- London
Well it is for now, according to The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman, but there’s still plenty of time for Universal to tone things down in time for the July release. Per her post: “Among the objectionable scenes is one in which Bruno — a gay Austrian fashionista played by Baron Cohen — appears to have anal sex with a man on camera. In another, the actor goes on a hunting trip and sneaks naked into the tent of one of the fellow hunters, an unsuspecting non-actor.”
Awesome. We actually think this is yet another good sign about the quality of the flick, as some of our favorite comedies were deemed NC-17 before they were edited down for a R-rating.
Like what? Why we’re glad you asked! The 40-Year-Old Virgin (“pervasive sexual content, language and some drug use”), American Pie (“strong sexuality, crude sexual dialogue, language and drinking, all involving teens”), Clerks (“extensive use of extremely explicit sex-related dialogue”), Pink Flamingos (“a wide range of perversions in explicit detail”), Showgirls (“nudity and erotic sexuality throughout, and for some graphic language and sexual violence”), and the universally underloved Zack and Miri Make a Porno (“strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity and pervasive language”).
Also, while it’s not a comedy, remember the rating drama we told you about with Slumdog Millionaire? And just look how well that all turned out for Danny Boyle…
Flavorpill covers cultural events, art, books, music, and world news. Join now.
Email to a friend
Tweet
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
2 Responses
I can't believe Borat was only rated R…it's hilarious, but the hotel scene with his manager? Way more nudity–and vomit-inducing nude scenes–than any other comedy I can think of!
Caroline, your post cought my attention by the title, and upon further reading some questions occurred to me. For example, do you really think the NC-17 rating is a predicament of quality or it is just the MPAA trying to impose its own (rather conservative) values? Who is the MPAA to decide what children should or should not watch? And why when it comes to gay themes (and sex in general) the MPAA seems more worried than it is with violence (most of the movies listed on your post have a strong sexuality)?
So as far as answering your question, I do not think that Bruno deserves such a rating. The decision was made based on the values of very few people that can dictate what goes on in a movie, and who should be seeing that movie, which I believe should be the parent's decision. What this rating is doing however, is creating controversy about the movie, it is awakening people's curiosity because most people want to see what is it that made the MPAA give that rating. It is also sad, as a movie maker that because of somebody, my movie has to be cut and re-edited in order to accommodate a more acceptable rating, in order to make more profit. In conclusion, ratings don't determinate the quality of the movie, but they can make people interested.