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NC-17 to R: How 14 Movies Made the Cut(s)
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  3. NC-17 to R: How 14 Movies Made the Cut(s)

NC-17 to R: How 14 Movies Made the Cut(s)

What films like ''American Pie,'' ''Basic Instinct,'' and ''Blue Valentine'' did to avoid the MPAA's most restrictive rating

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EW Staff
April 20, 2016 at 04:52 PM EDT
<p>It might not be surprising that the MPAA initially gave an NC-17 to this teen sex comedy. But reportedly, the main bone of contention wasn&#8217;t the film&#8217;s naughty language or the climactic devirginification montage — it was the sequence where protagonist Jim has a moment with an apple pie. The filmmakers were instructed to trim a few pie thrusts. (Wouldn&#8217;t you love to read an MPAA memo?) —<em>Darren Franich</em></p>
pinterest
American Pie (1999)

It might not be surprising that the MPAA initially gave an NC-17 to this teen sex comedy. But reportedly, the main bone of contention wasn’t the film’s naughty language or the climactic devirginification montage — it was the sequence where protagonist Jim has a moment with an apple pie. The filmmakers were instructed to trim a few pie thrusts. (Wouldn’t you love to read an MPAA memo?) —Darren Franich

Everett Collection
<p>An erotic thriller about a bisexual (Sharon Stone) suspected of murdering her lover with an ice pick, this Paul Verhoeven film was pressured to tone down its violence and an extensive love scene that intimated oral sex. Verhoeven reluctantly made the cuts — which amounted to only about a minute of film time — and anyone who&#8217;s seen the movie can attest that they left plenty hard-R scenes intact. —<em>Jeff Labrecque</em></p>
pinterest
Basic Instinct (1992)

An erotic thriller about a bisexual (Sharon Stone) suspected of murdering her lover with an ice pick, this Paul Verhoeven film was pressured to tone down its violence and an extensive love scene that intimated oral sex. Verhoeven reluctantly made the cuts — which amounted to only about a minute of film time — and anyone who’s seen the movie can attest that they left plenty hard-R scenes intact. —Jeff Labrecque

Everett Collection
<p>The tragic true story of a Midwestern teen who lived her life as a boy was initially hit with an NC-17 rating for &#8221;an intense depiction of a rape and a sex scene.&#8221; The sex scene? Turns out Chloë Sevigny&#8217;s orgasm — at the hands of Hilary Swank — was simply too long. &#8221;Who&#8217;s ever hurt by female pleasure, I argued,&#8221; said director Kimberly Peirce, who reluctantly made the cut and paved the way for Swank to win her first Oscar. —<em>JL</em></p>
pinterest
Boys Don't Cry (1999)

The tragic true story of a Midwestern teen who lived her life as a boy was initially hit with an NC-17 rating for ”an intense depiction of a rape and a sex scene.” The sex scene? Turns out Chloë Sevigny’s orgasm — at the hands of Hilary Swank — was simply too long. ”Who’s ever hurt by female pleasure, I argued,” said director Kimberly Peirce, who reluctantly made the cut and paved the way for Swank to win her first Oscar. —JL

Everett Collection
<p>Reportedly, the ratings board wasn&#8217;t happy with a couple of sex scenes featuring Kevin Smith regular Jason Mewes and former pornographic actress Katie Morgan. After twice being stamped with an NC-17 rating, Smith appealed the rating on the grounds that the sex in the film was comedic&#8230; and wound up with an R. Lesson: Funny sex is okay, but sexy sex is a no-no. Sorry, Fassbender. —<em>DF</em></p>
pinterest
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Reportedly, the ratings board wasn’t happy with a couple of sex scenes featuring Kevin Smith regular Jason Mewes and former pornographic actress Katie Morgan. After twice being stamped with an NC-17 rating, Smith appealed the rating on the grounds that the sex in the film was comedic… and wound up with an R. Lesson: Funny sex is okay, but sexy sex is a no-no. Sorry, Fassbender. —DF

Everett Collection
<p>The film&#8217;s subtitle may be a bit of a misnomer, considering Matt and Trey were forced to make a number of cuts to satisfy the (pretty arbitrary) <a href="http://humor.beecy.net/misc/southparkmpaa/" target="_NEW">whims of the MPAA</a>. Luckily for them, the film was produced by Paramount, one of the studios that comprise the ratings organization, and they eventually managed an R. Their previous film, <em>Orgazmo</em>, was independently financed and was stuck with the NC-17. Thankfully, it&#8217;s not as much of a problem on Broadway. —<em>Keith Staskiewicz</em></p>
pinterest
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999)

The film’s subtitle may be a bit of a misnomer, considering Matt and Trey were forced to make a number of cuts to satisfy the (pretty arbitrary) whims of the MPAA. Luckily for them, the film was produced by Paramount, one of the studios that comprise the ratings organization, and they eventually managed an R. Their previous film, Orgazmo, was independently financed and was stuck with the NC-17. Thankfully, it’s not as much of a problem on Broadway. —Keith Staskiewicz

Everett Collection
<p>If you were the prosecutor in the case against Madonna&#8217;s film career, this Razzie-winning Eszterhasian thriller manqué might be your Exhibit A. (Exhibit B would then have to be <em>Swept Away</em>.) Audiences were smart enough to stay away, even though two minutes had been snipped from the film to earn it an R-rating. Perhaps they had already gotten to know the Material Girl&#8217;s material well enough from her photobook, <em>Sex</em>, which had been released only months earlier. —<em>KS</em></p>
pinterest
Body of Evidence (1993)

If you were the prosecutor in the case against Madonna’s film career, this Razzie-winning Eszterhasian thriller manqué might be your Exhibit A. (Exhibit B would then have to be Swept Away.) Audiences were smart enough to stay away, even though two minutes had been snipped from the film to earn it an R-rating. Perhaps they had already gotten to know the Material Girl’s material well enough from her photobook, Sex, which had been released only months earlier. —KS

Everett Collection
<p>Director Louis Malle&#8217;s film, about a British Parliamentarian (Jeremy Irons) who finds himself sexually entangled with his son&#8217;s fiancé (Juliette Binoche), went from an NC-17 to an R after Malle begrudgingly cut a single shot of the naked actors intertwined in a doorway. But as EW noted while <a href="https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,306994,00.html" target="_NEW">reviewing the unrated home video release of the film</a>, the shot in question is rather, well, &#8221;ludicrous&#8221;: &#8221;The lovers&#8230;flop about as if engaged in a game of naked Twister&#8230;[s]uggesting Monty Python more than mounting passion.&#8221; —<em>Adam B. Vary</em></p>
pinterest
Damage (1992)

Director Louis Malle’s film, about a British Parliamentarian (Jeremy Irons) who finds himself sexually entangled with his son’s fiancé (Juliette Binoche), went from an NC-17 to an R after Malle begrudgingly cut a single shot of the naked actors intertwined in a doorway. But as EW noted while reviewing the unrated home video release of the film, the shot in question is rather, well, ”ludicrous”: ”The lovers…flop about as if engaged in a game of naked Twister…[s]uggesting Monty Python more than mounting passion.” —Adam B. Vary

Everett Collection
<p>Pubic hair. Mario Bello&#8217;s pubic hair. That — and the hint of female pleasure — is what landed this Vegas drama, about a walking bad-luck charm (William H. Macy) who finds his glass half-full when he falls for a pretty girl (Bello), in NC-17 purgatory. Director Wayne Kramer pleaded his case to the MPAA, but the board held out until he edited the scene — two whole seconds worth of cuts. —<em>JL</em></p>
pinterest
The Cooler (2003)

Pubic hair. Mario Bello’s pubic hair. That — and the hint of female pleasure — is what landed this Vegas drama, about a walking bad-luck charm (William H. Macy) who finds his glass half-full when he falls for a pretty girl (Bello), in NC-17 purgatory. Director Wayne Kramer pleaded his case to the MPAA, but the board held out until he edited the scene — two whole seconds worth of cuts. —JL

Everett Collection
<p>Writer-director James Toback&#8217;s three-hander follows a lothario (Robert Downey Jr.) who&#8217;s confronted by his two &#8221;exclusive&#8221; girlfriends (Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner) in his spacious duplex. An orally fixated sex scene between a clothed Downey and Graham gave the MPAA such pause that Toback submitted close to 10 cuts of the scene before they changed the rating from an NC-17 to an R. &#8221;I don&#8217;t think you&#8217;d be able to know the difference,&#8221; <a href="https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,282802_2,00.html" target="_NEW">Toback told EW at the time</a>. &#8221;The length of the shots has been trimmed, but not a single shot was taken out.&#8221; —<em>Adam B. Vary</em></p>
pinterest
Two Girls and a Guy (1997)

Writer-director James Toback’s three-hander follows a lothario (Robert Downey Jr.) who’s confronted by his two ”exclusive” girlfriends (Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner) in his spacious duplex. An orally fixated sex scene between a clothed Downey and Graham gave the MPAA such pause that Toback submitted close to 10 cuts of the scene before they changed the rating from an NC-17 to an R. ”I don’t think you’d be able to know the difference,” Toback told EW at the time. ”The length of the shots has been trimmed, but not a single shot was taken out.” —Adam B. Vary

Everett Collection
<p>This distaff teen sex comedy followed three high school girls keen on having their first orgasm. A scene in which one of the characters uses a Jacuzzi jet stream for happy fun times — a scene shot from the shoulders up, with the girl in question in a bathing suit — initially caused the film to be slapped with an NC-17 rating, and had some wondering if the film&#8217;s female-centric story line (and indie financing) earned it more scrutiny than the male-centric shenanigans in the studio-backed <em>American Pie</em>, which hit theaters around the same time. —<em>Adam B. Vary</em></p>
pinterest
Coming Soon (1999)

This distaff teen sex comedy followed three high school girls keen on having their first orgasm. A scene in which one of the characters uses a Jacuzzi jet stream for happy fun times — a scene shot from the shoulders up, with the girl in question in a bathing suit — initially caused the film to be slapped with an NC-17 rating, and had some wondering if the film’s female-centric story line (and indie financing) earned it more scrutiny than the male-centric shenanigans in the studio-backed American Pie, which hit theaters around the same time. —Adam B. Vary

<p>The <em>South Park</em> guys once again ran afoul of the MPAA with their satirical marionette jingofest. This time, the problem was sex — specifically, the extended love scene between the male and female protagonist. Apparently, the ratings board drew the line at the golden shower. —<em>DF</em></p>
pinterest
Team America (2004)

The South Park guys once again ran afoul of the MPAA with their satirical marionette jingofest. This time, the problem was sex — specifically, the extended love scene between the male and female protagonist. Apparently, the ratings board drew the line at the golden shower. —DF

Everett Collection
<p>Kevin Smith&#8217;s underdog Sundance hit was nearly derailed by the MPAA, who slapped an early cut with the dreaded NC-17 rating for&#8230; get this: &#8221;Strong language.&#8221; Miramax hired Alan Dershowitz to plead its case. After all, you couldn&#8217;t just snip three seconds of full-frontal exposure in this case — the potty mouths permeated the entire film. After an appeal, though, the MPAA reversed course and granted <em>Clerks </em>an R rating. Snoochie boochies! —<em>JL</em></p>
pinterest
Clerks (1994)

Kevin Smith’s underdog Sundance hit was nearly derailed by the MPAA, who slapped an early cut with the dreaded NC-17 rating for… get this: ”Strong language.” Miramax hired Alan Dershowitz to plead its case. After all, you couldn’t just snip three seconds of full-frontal exposure in this case — the potty mouths permeated the entire film. After an appeal, though, the MPAA reversed course and granted Clerks an R rating. Snoochie boochies! —JL

Everett Collection
<p>The adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis&#8217; controversial novel was loaded with nihilistic violence, like the scene where Christian Bale murdered a rival with an axe. But the MPAA instead had an issue with his threesome with two prostitutes. (Or maybe it was his character&#8217;s obsession with Phil Collins. Hard to tell.) Director Mary Herron snipped a few seconds from the scene, and the board lowered the rating to R. —<em>JL</em></p>
pinterest
American Psycho (2000)

The adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ controversial novel was loaded with nihilistic violence, like the scene where Christian Bale murdered a rival with an axe. But the MPAA instead had an issue with his threesome with two prostitutes. (Or maybe it was his character’s obsession with Phil Collins. Hard to tell.) Director Mary Herron snipped a few seconds from the scene, and the board lowered the rating to R. —JL

Everett Collection
<p>Last year proved that the MPAA is not against oral sex on a woman. They&#8217;re only against oral sex on a woman by a man. While <em>Black Swan</em> coasted to an R-rating despite an intimate scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling&#8217;s tale of a fractured marriage was flagged for a much less gratuitous scene. After public criticism, the board reversed its ruling without forcing the film to make any changes. —<em>JL</em></p>
pinterest
Blue Valentine (2010)

Last year proved that the MPAA is not against oral sex on a woman. They’re only against oral sex on a woman by a man. While Black Swan coasted to an R-rating despite an intimate scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling’s tale of a fractured marriage was flagged for a much less gratuitous scene. After public criticism, the board reversed its ruling without forcing the film to make any changes. —JL

Everett Collection
1 of 15

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1 of 14 Everett Collection

American Pie (1999)

It might not be surprising that the MPAA initially gave an NC-17 to this teen sex comedy. But reportedly, the main bone of contention wasn’t the film’s naughty language or the climactic devirginification montage — it was the sequence where protagonist Jim has a moment with an apple pie. The filmmakers were instructed to trim a few pie thrusts. (Wouldn’t you love to read an MPAA memo?) —Darren Franich

Advertisement
2 of 14 Everett Collection

Basic Instinct (1992)

An erotic thriller about a bisexual (Sharon Stone) suspected of murdering her lover with an ice pick, this Paul Verhoeven film was pressured to tone down its violence and an extensive love scene that intimated oral sex. Verhoeven reluctantly made the cuts — which amounted to only about a minute of film time — and anyone who’s seen the movie can attest that they left plenty hard-R scenes intact. —Jeff Labrecque

3 of 14 Everett Collection

Boys Don't Cry (1999)

The tragic true story of a Midwestern teen who lived her life as a boy was initially hit with an NC-17 rating for ”an intense depiction of a rape and a sex scene.” The sex scene? Turns out Chloë Sevigny’s orgasm — at the hands of Hilary Swank — was simply too long. ”Who’s ever hurt by female pleasure, I argued,” said director Kimberly Peirce, who reluctantly made the cut and paved the way for Swank to win her first Oscar. —JL

Advertisement
4 of 14 Everett Collection

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Reportedly, the ratings board wasn’t happy with a couple of sex scenes featuring Kevin Smith regular Jason Mewes and former pornographic actress Katie Morgan. After twice being stamped with an NC-17 rating, Smith appealed the rating on the grounds that the sex in the film was comedic… and wound up with an R. Lesson: Funny sex is okay, but sexy sex is a no-no. Sorry, Fassbender. —DF

Advertisement
5 of 14 Everett Collection

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999)

The film’s subtitle may be a bit of a misnomer, considering Matt and Trey were forced to make a number of cuts to satisfy the (pretty arbitrary) whims of the MPAA. Luckily for them, the film was produced by Paramount, one of the studios that comprise the ratings organization, and they eventually managed an R. Their previous film, Orgazmo, was independently financed and was stuck with the NC-17. Thankfully, it’s not as much of a problem on Broadway. —Keith Staskiewicz

Advertisement
6 of 14 Everett Collection

Body of Evidence (1993)

If you were the prosecutor in the case against Madonna’s film career, this Razzie-winning Eszterhasian thriller manqué might be your Exhibit A. (Exhibit B would then have to be Swept Away.) Audiences were smart enough to stay away, even though two minutes had been snipped from the film to earn it an R-rating. Perhaps they had already gotten to know the Material Girl’s material well enough from her photobook, Sex, which had been released only months earlier. —KS

Advertisement
7 of 14 Everett Collection

Damage (1992)

Director Louis Malle’s film, about a British Parliamentarian (Jeremy Irons) who finds himself sexually entangled with his son’s fiancé (Juliette Binoche), went from an NC-17 to an R after Malle begrudgingly cut a single shot of the naked actors intertwined in a doorway. But as EW noted while reviewing the unrated home video release of the film, the shot in question is rather, well, ”ludicrous”: ”The lovers…flop about as if engaged in a game of naked Twister…[s]uggesting Monty Python more than mounting passion.” —Adam B. Vary

Advertisement
8 of 14 Everett Collection

The Cooler (2003)

Pubic hair. Mario Bello’s pubic hair. That — and the hint of female pleasure — is what landed this Vegas drama, about a walking bad-luck charm (William H. Macy) who finds his glass half-full when he falls for a pretty girl (Bello), in NC-17 purgatory. Director Wayne Kramer pleaded his case to the MPAA, but the board held out until he edited the scene — two whole seconds worth of cuts. —JL

Advertisement
9 of 14 Everett Collection

Two Girls and a Guy (1997)

Writer-director James Toback’s three-hander follows a lothario (Robert Downey Jr.) who’s confronted by his two ”exclusive” girlfriends (Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner) in his spacious duplex. An orally fixated sex scene between a clothed Downey and Graham gave the MPAA such pause that Toback submitted close to 10 cuts of the scene before they changed the rating from an NC-17 to an R. ”I don’t think you’d be able to know the difference,” Toback told EW at the time. ”The length of the shots has been trimmed, but not a single shot was taken out.” —Adam B. Vary

Advertisement
10 of 14

Coming Soon (1999)

This distaff teen sex comedy followed three high school girls keen on having their first orgasm. A scene in which one of the characters uses a Jacuzzi jet stream for happy fun times — a scene shot from the shoulders up, with the girl in question in a bathing suit — initially caused the film to be slapped with an NC-17 rating, and had some wondering if the film’s female-centric story line (and indie financing) earned it more scrutiny than the male-centric shenanigans in the studio-backed American Pie, which hit theaters around the same time. —Adam B. Vary

Advertisement
11 of 14 Everett Collection

Team America (2004)

The South Park guys once again ran afoul of the MPAA with their satirical marionette jingofest. This time, the problem was sex — specifically, the extended love scene between the male and female protagonist. Apparently, the ratings board drew the line at the golden shower. —DF

Advertisement
12 of 14 Everett Collection

Clerks (1994)

Kevin Smith’s underdog Sundance hit was nearly derailed by the MPAA, who slapped an early cut with the dreaded NC-17 rating for… get this: ”Strong language.” Miramax hired Alan Dershowitz to plead its case. After all, you couldn’t just snip three seconds of full-frontal exposure in this case — the potty mouths permeated the entire film. After an appeal, though, the MPAA reversed course and granted Clerks an R rating. Snoochie boochies! —JL

Advertisement
13 of 14 Everett Collection

American Psycho (2000)

The adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ controversial novel was loaded with nihilistic violence, like the scene where Christian Bale murdered a rival with an axe. But the MPAA instead had an issue with his threesome with two prostitutes. (Or maybe it was his character’s obsession with Phil Collins. Hard to tell.) Director Mary Herron snipped a few seconds from the scene, and the board lowered the rating to R. —JL

Advertisement
14 of 14 Everett Collection

Blue Valentine (2010)

Last year proved that the MPAA is not against oral sex on a woman. They’re only against oral sex on a woman by a man. While Black Swan coasted to an R-rating despite an intimate scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling’s tale of a fractured marriage was flagged for a much less gratuitous scene. After public criticism, the board reversed its ruling without forcing the film to make any changes. —JL

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