'This Film Is Not Yet Rated' slaps the movie-rating system

Most parents recognize the arbitrariness and inconsistency of movie ratings for youth-oriented films. It's a stone in the shoe for those engaged in the (thankless, borderline impossible) job of policing their children's cultural diet and an annoyance for parents who are offended that mass destruction often gets a free pass while a few naughty words earn an instant R rating.

IFC Films 'This Film Is Not Yet Rated' Four out of five stars The verdict: A first-rate (albeit biased) look at the movie-ratings board. Director: Kirby Dick Starring: John Waters, Kevin Smith, Matt Stone, Kimberly Peirce, Atom Egoyan Run time: 97 minutes Release date: Sept. 1, 2006 Rating: Unrated after receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA for some graphic sexual content. On the web Official movie site Rate 'This Film Is Not Yet Rated'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

That topic deserves a documentary of its own. Until then, MPAA-bashers will relish a film looking at the adult end of the spectrum, where problems go from annoyance ("I don't want my kids to hear that word") to outright repression ("If my movie gets an NC-17, it can't be shown in most of this country"). "This Film Is Not Yet Rated," by limit-testing documentarian Kirby Dick (his most famous film, "Sick," took a graphic look at sadomasochism), is more interested in the Ratings Board as part of America's ongoing definition of pornography and what is and isn't tolerated in mainstream discourse.

Lest that sound dry: Dick is also a prankster here, happily torturing the men and women who decide what can play at your local multiplex. The board is designed to be both anonymous (so that moneyed filmmakers can't buy members' approval) and made up of "average parents" (the better to evaluate current social norms). In order to disprove that second claim, Dick hires private detectives to uncover the identity of board members.

In scenes that are frequently funny and sometimes unfair, Dick exposes identities, flouts the holes in MPAA policies, and flusters normally smooth spokespeople. You might feel a shred of sympathy for these men and women, especially because their side of the argument isn't given much time here. (In three decades, surely MPAA powerhouse Jack Valenti had enough time to make his rationales clear.)

When not pulling Michael Moore-like stunts, Dick interviews filmmakers who have been on the wrong side of the ratings debate. As we roam from the usual suspects (Matt Stone of "South Park," happy filthmonger John Waters) to indie filmmakers such as Atom Egoyan and Kimberly Peirce, disturbing questions arise: Are independent productions subject to stricter standards than those made by studios? Do homosexual themes put a movie at risk for the dreaded NC-17, even when there's nothing explicit onscreen? Why should a short glimpse of a woman's pubic hair be considered more dangerous to the public psyche than an onscreen beheading?

Those questions, and the MPAA's cavalier attitude toward them, add up to a blood-boiling experience for film lovers who believe that adult themes have a place in the movies and that artists should be able to push boundaries without risking bankruptcy. Concerned parents won't find answers here about why some vulgarity makes it into a G movie while other blameless films are PG — and folks who worry about such things should be warned that "Not Yet Rated" includes plenty of clips they might not want to view — but others will find it an essential and entertaining investigation.