March 1, 2011

The King's [Expletive Deleted]

I'll be honest.  In spite of the accolades it hauled in on Sunday, seeing The King's Speech is not high on my list of priorities.  It's the sort of uplifting high-class flick that tends to make my teeth itch, even if it's really well done (especially if it's well done, actually).  But now, I think I'll just let it go, as I've got no interest in supporting bowdlerization:
Despite director Tom Hooper’s strenuous objections, The Weinstein Company is moving forward with a proposed PG-13 edit of The King’s Speech, having just received an okay from the MPAA to release it to theaters as soon as it pulls the original, R-rated version.
Wait a sec - what could possibly be so edgy in that flick to justify an R rating?  Nazis?  Royal boobage?  Oh no:
Back then, the only thing that came between The King’s Speech and a PG-13 was a key scene where Colin Firth’s character lets loose with a string of cathartic profanities . . ..
That's right, folks - His Majesty drops the F bomb.  Over and over again.  Which, as South Park taught us, is the worst thing in the world you can do  in the eyes of the MPAA.*  So TWC has redubbed the scene to drop the number of fucks from five to two.  So remember, folks: two fucks, good; five fucks bad.

I'm not sure who pisses me off more.  Obviously, the MPAA and its rediculous ratings board deserves most of the blame.  But Harvey Weinstein does, too, for agreeing to change the film to make some more bucks.  "Fuck yous" all around, then.

*Alternately, This Film Is Not Yet Rated argues that it's worse in the eyes of the MPAA to show a woman actually enjoying sex.  Senseless, bloody violence is just peachy, though.  Either way, that's pretty fucked up, right?

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