This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006, NR)

This one is a documentary, and it's pretty interesting (if it's what you're interested in.  Any docu tends to be aimed at a niche market).  It's about the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating system.  In 1968 the film industry changed from a censorship system (in which a movie was flat out approved or denied for distribution: denied = labeled as obscenity/pornography) to a voluntary rating system by a committed of people representing the "average American parent" (G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17, which was formerly called X).  Many film distributors will refuse to work with a film rated NC-17, and that rating will necessarily decrease the number of potential viewers for the film and the likelihood for them to even hear about the film, so the distinction between being rated R vs NC-17 is very important to filmmakers.  This is mostly true for independent/art-house studios because they tend to push social boundaries and try riskier projects, where as major studios have their own distribution systems an advertisement budgets, and they work mostly with "safer" projects based on projected earnings.

Like most documentaries, this film was filmed because someone had something to say, and this someone (an independent filmmaker, Kirby Dick) thinks the system and committee is unfair.  And I have to admit, they have some compelling arguments to that point.  Unlike any other governing body (such as, say, the Supreme Court), the committee members identities are held in strict secrecy and all have to sign non-disclosure agreements against any revelations in the future.  They're almost like a secret society, and have no oversight.  The makers of this film hired a private investigator to help find out more about the members and estimate their credibility.  What the PI finds out helps disprove several of the claims of the MPAA regarding their members such as that they are all parents of children within a certain age range and the maximum tenure of a member.  The committee doesn't have a strict numerical set of guidelines regarding what rating they will give, only general things that will increase or decrease a rating (arbitrary).  Also of note is that American films have a stricter rating for depictions of sex-related acts compared to violence and whereas Europe rates films more strictly for violence compared to sex (each continent has its own taboos).  Some filmmakers interviewed in this documentary are Kevin Smith (Mallrats, Clerks), Matt Stone (South Park, Team America: World Police) and John Waters (Hairspray, A Dirty Shame)... none seem satisfied with the MPAA rating system and the way two very similar films will receive different ratings.

I normally try to avoid spoilers at all costs, but this film is not really a narrative, and the film goes into a lot more specifics than what I outlined here.  Anyway either it's interesting to you or it's not.  I thought it was worth my time, but then again, I'm the kind of guy that starts a movie review blog.  Hopefully you know whether this subject is of interest to you or not, but I can say that it's well put-together in terms of quality.