Zach Braff has a garden state weblog (trailer, imdb):
Some of you have been asking about the rating. Just so you all know, your government doesn't believe a 16 year old should hear the word "fuck" more than twice in a 2 hour period. The second you say "fuck" twice in a movie your film becomes "R". No exceptions. Pretty crazy, huh? You can blow someone's head off, but 2 fucks makes you unwatchable for someone under 17. Unless they have their parent there to explain it to them. "Mom, I understood the first use of the word fuck, but what's with the second - give me guidance please. I've heard one fuck before, but ever since I heard the second one I've had this insatiable desire to rob a liquor store and refer to all women as "ho's".
Anyway, that's why the movie's R. There is a brief shot of a breast - not mine don't get all excited - but it's because of the "one fuck" rule.
(via James Duncan Davidson)
I dunno... I've been to the New Jersey--I'd have to agree that the place easily deserves an R rating. (On a good day, at least)
I think the bit about "your government" is a bit misleading. Movie ratings are applied by the MPAA, and they decide what the rules are and how they apply to each movie.
They may be acting out of fear that the government will come down on them (I believe threats from the government are what got the ratings system started), but the movie-industry rating rules are all their own.
So what your saying is that rather than fight the
excess violence in films, lets permit as much
foul language as they want. Maybe that will balance
out the other?
Hi Charles,
No, I don't see how I was saying that.
The rating standards are forcing serious movies treating sex, relationships, drugs, strong emotions and billions of other things from our very real world to get a rating putting them out of reach for many teenagers who'd do well seeing them. At the same time cartoonish movies showing violence and sex in obscured ways are perfectly okay. Ebert once wrote "MPAA has perverted a generation of American movies into puerile masturbatory snickering."
I just don't see how that makes any sense.
- ask
I'd be interested in seeing examples of what you
consider current movies treating sex, relationships, drugs, and strong emotions, that teenagers should be looking at.
Hey, I think that it is kind of retarded that it got R rating because of a few fucks, but hey, lets make sure that the problem of drug use, teen sex, and murder isn't at the top of our list and spend our time rating a Great Movie R for a few fucks!! You know RAY was PG-13!!!! What!! I dont get it!! He uses like, intense drugs and sex. Whatever. I am moving to Africa and living like a bush man and eating giraffes, chow.
Guess the government wants all 16 year olds to learn how to make WAR before they learn about making LOVE