American film board gives gay film Love Is Strange R-rating despite no sex or violence
The Motion Picture Association of America has been criticised for homophobia
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The film classification body in the US has given a new movie about a retired gay couple an R-rating despite not featuring any sex, nudity or violence.
Love Is Strange has been classified R for its release in the US, meaning children aged under 17 must be accompanied by an adult to watch the film.
The rating was given by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for its use of bad language, but the decision to classify the film as R has been criticised by some as veiled homophobia.
Starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina as a gay couple who have been together for four decades, the film contains no scenes of nudity, drug taking and sex.
The only scene featuring the elderly men in bed together shows the two lead characters lying next to each other fully clothed.
In comparison, the R-rated Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, which is released at the same time as Love Is Strange in the US, features repeated violence, graphic gore, nudity, sex and substance abuse.
Stephen Whitty, film reviewer at the New Jersey Star-Ledger, has criticised the MPAA over its decision to give Love Is Strange the same rating.
“Also opening is Love Is Strange. There is no nudity. There are no sexual situations. The drug or alcohol material mostly consists of adults having wine with dinner, or cocktails at a bar. There is no violence or gore,” he wrote.
He said that the MPAA had sometimes shown considerable leeway on language given its context, but added that even the “few strong words” in Love Is Strange were not spoken with violence.
Elsewhere, the film has been rated PG in Canada, 15A in Ireland and 15 in the UK.
The British Board of Film Classification sites “strong language” for giving Love Is Strange a 15 rating.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments