This Film Is Not Yet Rated

How do you make a movie about censorship in the movie industry? Very carefully. Director Kirby Dick brilliantly exposes the hypocrisy behind Jack Valenti’s film ratings board in this thought provoking documentary.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated raises a lot of big questions in its short 90-minute runtime: Is the movie ratings board corrupt? Possibly. Is the R-rated violence and NC-17 rated sex in American movies a reflection on our society as a whole? Probably. Are there double standards for big studio pictures and smaller indie productions? Definitely.

The beauty of this documentary is that it doesn’t really need to answer these questions: its role in this whole mess is to stir the pot, to make us think. Amidst these and other weighty subjects like piracy, homophobia, government intervention and organized religion, the main narrative of Dick’s story is to reveal the identities of the 8 mystery members of the ratings board.

For reasons known only to board overseer Jack Valenti and his chain of command, the entire rating system is kept under a veil of secrecy worthy of Fort Knox. With the help of a private investigator, Dick eventually finds his targets. In the meantime, he interviews a wide array of film makers, media analysts and the like, gathering evidence both circumstantial and actual. Even if you don’t believe in some grand conspiracy, the whole thing is very convincing.

The film hits its high point, though, when—in a piece of meta-storytelling reminiscent of a Charlie Kaufman screenplay—Dick is forced to submit his own picture to the ratings board. What happens next is both comical and revelatory. I’d rather not spoil it for you. What I will tell you is that this film contains graphic nudity, violent imagery and foul language. That should give you a hint. A