'Blue Valentine' successfully fights NC-17 rating

By Sarah Sluis

A month ago, I lamented that Blue Valentine received an NC-17 rating. The portrait of a dying relationship has the emotional impact of a freight train. The sex scenes that supposedly warranted the NC-17 rating are not unusually explicit, just unusually real. It seems artifice and exaggeration provide enough emotional distance to ensure an R rating, while something so shockingly real is so powerful, it feels more naked than the actors themselves.

After hiring some dynamo lawyers, The Weinstein Co. successfully reversed the ratings of Blue Valentine (now an R) and The King's Speech (now a PG-13 despite a profusion of F-words). The King's Speech is actually already in release, and doing quite well, but the lower rating could help as the movie expands its release beyond the arty crowds presumably turning out for the film now.

All the hullaballoo and press (overwhelmingly in defense of the film) over the rating of Blue Valentine seems like a good way to get attention, but a press release sent out by the Weinstein Co. tries to pretend the opposite. Blue Valentine producer Jamie Patricof said, "While this has been a frustrating distraction from the film, the outpouring of support from the industry, journalists and film fans has been truly moving. We are ecstatic, that the MPAA was able to see the honesty that Derek [Cianfrance] was able to achieve in this film and overturned the original rating, so the film can now be seen all across the world." (my emphasis)

Blue Valentine and The King's Speech already hold spots in my top ten for 2010. After all the layoffs and talk of bankruptcy, The Weinstein Co. has made an impressive rally with two stunningly good films. Harvey Weinstein is known for being a master at receiving Oscar nominations, even without a truly stellar film, but this year I can really get behind these movies. I only hope that Blue Valentine will receive as much of a push as the more awards-friendly King's Speech.