A PG-13 'King's Speech': Do We Need To Change Our Rating System?

Controversy surrounded the Oscar-winning film "The King's Speech" last year when it received an R rating due to language. Those who have seen the film might remember a scene in which King George VI releases a string of swear words as a method of therapy to help cure his stutter.

That outburst includes a number of f-bombs, which the Motion Picture Association of America doesn't allow, hence the R rating.

The MPAA allows one use of the word "f*ck" in a PG-13 movie, and it must be used in a non-sexual and non-agressive manner. The rule is not hard and fast, as some PG-13 movies use the word two or three times and still managed to keep the more lenient rating. The string of "f*cks" in "The King's Speech" go way over that number, but they are not only used in a non-agressive, non-sexual way, they are used in a therapeutic way.

Because of this, The Weinstein Company argued the rating, but to no avail.

Now, TWC plans to pull the R-rated version of "The King's Speech" from theaters and replace it with a PG-13 version. The new cut of the film will have some of the "f*cks" muted or replaced with "sh*t," which is allowed in any number in a PG-13 movies. TWC hopes that the new PG-13 release will widen the audience and bring in more box office earnings that the film missed out on with its restriced rating.

I have been of the opinion from the very beginning that the R rating for "The King's Speech" was a bit ridiculous, and I think the fact that it has to be censored and re-released (even after winning an Oscar) is silly as well.

But this sort of move has never been done before, so if anything it will be an interesting experiment in how ratings affect a movie's earnings: if we do see a significant number of ticket sales over the $132.7 million that "The King's Speech" has already grossed in the U.S., we'll know for certain that the unfair R rating crippled "The King's Speech."