The Reign of the PG-13 Rating: Sanitized, Safe, and Worth Shitloads of Money [Movies]

It’s a great time for PG-13. Seven out of the nine films nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars were rated PG-13. Eight of the Top 10 grossing films of last year in the U.S. sported that rating. It’s become something of a badge of honor: This Means War was edited to qualify (not that it made a difference in its paltry box office take), The Expendables sequel is being tailored to be a PG-13 “barbeque of grand scale ass bashing [that] will not leave anyone hungry” (according to Sly Stallone) and high-profile outrage met the MPAA’s decision to slap Lee Hirsch’s documentary Bully with an R instead. More »