Who's in It: Kirby Dick, John Waters, Kevin Smith, Matt Stone, Kimberly Peirce, Darren Aronofsky, Atom Egoyan, Maria Bello, Allison Anders, Mary Harron
The Basics: If you're a childless adult like me, you probably pay no attention to what a movie is rated. The only reason I do is because it's my job. Like, I know it's a PG-13 if there's only one F-word in it, and that F-word is used as an expletive instead of as a description for, you know, doing "it." And the reason I know that is because the MPAA is a moronic institution that helps no one, not even parents. And this documentary is about how much they suck.
What's the Deal? Check this out. American Psycho was given an NC-17 at first. Reasons unknown. That's how they do it at the MPAA. They don't want to "censor" you, after all. So director Mary Harron resubmitted after trimming a three-way sex scene (not the violence — the insane violence). Then it got its R.
My Favorite Part: When filmmaker Kirby Dick sends a private detective and her daughter on the hunt for the secret members and practices of the MPAA. Suddenly, it's a spy movie too.
Favorite Director Opinion: Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Peirce talks about how, from the MPAA's standpoint, female sexual pleasure is a bigger crime in a film than actual violence against a female character.
See Kirby Dick's Other Films: Especially Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Super Masochist, which is about the performance artist with cystic fibrosis who included self-mutilation as a part of his work. I know it sounds gross, but it's also really smart and funny and life-affirming in its own weird way.