Some good news has come in for the award season contender Philomena. The Judi Dench film which had originally been rated R by the MPAA for the use of “strong language” (they had the audacity to say the F-word twice). But now thanks to a successful appeal by their distributor The Weinstein Company, Philomena has now been rated PG-13.
The Weinstein Company even went so far as to have Dench play her M character from the James Bond films for a video in which she also appeals to have the MPAA change their minds. So they brought M back from the dead just so she could say the MPAA sucks? Yeah I actually have no problem with that
I find the timing of this decision to be pretty hilarious considering that just a few days ago a study had shown that PG-13 films have become more violent than R-rated movies. Philomena seems to be a prime example of just how ridiculous the MPAA can be with their own rating system.
This decision obviously bodes well for Philomena’s box office potential. It likely would’ve had a hard time finding much of an audience outside of people like me who would see it because of the potential Oscar appeal. However, now that it’s PG-13, the Weinsteins can now sell as a more family friendly picture. Considering the subject manner of a woman trying to find the son she gave up for adoption fifty years it would’ve been a little hard to sell it as anything else.
This will also likely make whatever awards push they make for the movie easier as Dench has already been receiving a considerable amount of buzz for a Best Actress nomination (say what you will about the Weinstein but they know how to push a prestige picture).
Should the MPAA make some changes in their policy? Do you agree with their decision with Philomena? Let us know in the comment section below
Source: First Showing