“Blue Valentine” Trailer Arrives, Followed by NC-17 Rating

The folks responsible for rating films have proven themselves once again to be complete and utter clowns, this time slapping an NC-17 rating on one of the year's best films.

"Blue Valentine " knocked us out when we saw it at Sundance in January. It's a film that's as brutal as it is beautiful, about a couple whose marriage is falling apart. It's a remarkably honest and bleak film that leaves you wildly uncomfortable at times, but there was nothing we saw that would warrant anything beyond an R rating.

And yet, here comes the MPAA declaring that they deem the film the be NC-17, based on a sex scene between Gosling and Williams in which there is little to no nudity, according to Deadline.

In a world where all manner of torture porn and slasher nonsense gets by with an R rating, it's beyond comprehension that "Blue Valentine" faces what amounts to a box-office death sentence. There's sure to be an appeal, but we doubt it will amount to much.

What makes the rating even more puzzling is that Weinstein, the folks distributing the film, have already cut several minutes from the version we saw in Park City, which stands as one the five best movies we've seen this year.

It's a shame that the writer-director Derek Cianfrance's original may have to wait until the DVD release to see the light of day. In the meantime, whatever watered down version ultimately passes muster with the ratings board will be here Dec. 31.

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