Smith Wins 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' Rating Appeal by Breaking Silence with Unexpectedly Poignant Speech
Kevin Smith has won an appeal to lower the rating on his raunchy comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno from NC-17 to an R, allowing anyone under 17 and comfortable with watching sex scenes with their mom or other guardian to do so. Speaking to the Associated Press, Smith explained that the problem wasn't so much the content as that the MPAA board can't discern between eroticism and comedy:
"They felt it was rather sexually graphic. My point is, it was comically graphic. All the sex in the movie with the exception of one scene is very cartoonish, very campy," Smith said. "It wasn't designed to titillate."The appeals board, a separate panel from the ratings board, viewed the movie Tuesday, and Smith presented his arguments. It was the third time Smith successfully talked his way down to a lower rating: His 1994 debut Clerks initially received an NC-17 rating that was reduced to an R on appeal, while his 2003 film Jersey Girl was reduced to PG-13 after first being rated R.
This should make the film far more commercially viable, and more importantly, now we know that since they couldn't tell Kevin Smith comedy from actual erotica, the ratings board members are probably having sex that relies heavily on dialogue and pop culture references, and likely includes an appearance by Jason Mewes.
Smith wins appeal for R rating on 'Porno' [USA Today]