'Fifty Shades of Grey' Earns 'R' Rating, Avoids 'NC-17'

It's official: If you're under 18, you can still see "Fifty Shades of Grey" in theaters...if you bring a parent or legal guardian.

The adaptation of the wildly popular novels by E.L. James have received their official rating from the MPAA, and it's an "R." That should be no surprise to those who know what happens during the story of "Fifty Shades."

However, it might be a surprise to some fans who were expecting an NC-17 rating. That was the promise of screenwriter Kelly Marcel, who said that the movie would be "100 percent going there" in terms of raunch and that it would get an NC-17 rating.

That would have spelled box office suicide for the movie, however, and later producer Dana Brunetti clarified that "Fifty Shades" would have to have an R rating. He did leave some hope for those who want to get the full experience, though.

"This is just my opinion and this doesn't mean this is going to happen," Brunetti said, "but I always thought it would be really cool if we released the R version and then we had an NC-17 version that we released a few weeks later. So everybody could go and enjoy the R version, and then if they really wanted to see it again and get a little bit more gritty with it then have that NC-17 version out there as well. It'd be great for the studio too because they'd get a double dip on the box office…What we're kind of hearing from the fans is they want it dirty, they want it as close as possible [to the book].  We want to keep it elevated, but also give the fans what they want."
 
While it's unlikely that an NC-17 cut will hit theaters, it's possible that a steamier "unrated" version could end up being released on home video, provided the footage already exists.
 
In any case, the R-rated version of "Fifty Shades of Grey" will be out in theaters on Valentine's Day. Don't go with your parents.
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