Most of the time, I watch movies to try to forget about my life for a while. Other times, I like to see something I can relate to. Then there are movies that I don't want to see or would rather not have seen because they remind me too much of life. I just saw "The Company Men" today, and it was an example of something I could relate to AND enjoy. Granted, the characters in the movie who lost their jobs were way higher on the totem pole than I was, but the hassles were still the same. This past Sunday, I watched "Blue Valentine," which I'll admit I really only watched because I wanted to see what had originally given it an NC-17 (MPAA ratings are a favorite subject of mine), and the fact that Michelle Williams was involved helped (I've kinda had a thing for her since the Dawson's Creek era). It's basically about a marriage falling apart, while also showing how it started. In some respects "Blue Valentine" might be a decent movie, but I've seen too much of that kind of thing in real life, and therefore it's too painful to enjoy. Someone who posted a thread on the imdb.com message board said it best IMO: "So if you've ever watched white trash fighting in the middle of Walmart and wanted to know the backstory, watch this movie. Otherwise, avoid it." As for the rating...eh, I'm not sure. It's definitely not for kids, but I'd rather a teen see a sex scene from this movie than images of somebody getting blown up or burnt to a crisp. There's not really much nudity, but the sex is still pretty explicit. (More on that later on.)
Another movie that I recently watched partially to see why it got its rating was "The King's Speech". Before I saw the movie, I thought, "This doesn't look like an R-rated movie." And when you get right down to it, it's not. It's only rated R because it surpasses the PG-13 F-Bomb quota. All the f-bombs appear in one or two scenes, and in the context of speech therapy, so it's not like they're gratuitous and spread throughout the movie. Interestingly, the British Board Of Film Classification (or BBFC) originally rated it with a "15", then re-rated it "12A" on appeal. I think that was a smart decision. For shits and giggles, I decided to see what the BBFC gave "The Company Men" and "Blue Valentine". "The Company Men" was a pretty mild "R", so I guessed correctly that it was a "15". Surprisingly, "Blue Valentine" also managed a "15". The Extended Classification Information had this to say: "The BBFC's Guidelines at '15' state 'Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail'. The film includes three sex scenes of note - two portrayals of sexual intercourse and one of cunnilingus. In terms of sexual mechanics, each scene is strong and approaches the upper limits of what is permitted at '15'. However, nudity is limited and the scenes are otherwise sufficiently lacking in detail to be allowed at that category." I was also surprised that "Black Swan" passed for a "15", but since kids under 15 aren't allowed in to see "15"-certified movies, I guess that's alright.
While I'm on the subject of ratings, I highly recommend the documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated". Also, this article does a good job of comparing the MPAA and the BBFC, using Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" as an example.
On my way home from the theater, I stopped by a restaurant that has a big "Taking Applications" sign out front, yet hasn't had any applications in the past three days, to see if they had any applications today. They didn't. But anyway, I saw an ex-coworker there, someone who works in what I'm now calling the "Crackhead Sector". Between my recent angst about getting rejected for a job I used to do and having watched "The Company Men", I thought to myself that if she said "Hi" to me, I would've responded with, "Hey there Jobby McJobberson!" But I don't think she saw me, so I didn't get to say it.
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