New Film Ignites Debate on Ratings Policy

The romantic comedy "It's Complicated" was released with an "R" rating, but there is no violence in the movie, and the bedroom scenes are decidedly tame by contemporary standards. Instead, the R rating — which experts say could limit the box-office potential of the Universal Pictures film — comes largely from a sequence in which Steve Martin and Meryl Streep smoke marijuana. The rating has kicked up dust in Hollywood, with movie bloggers starting blistering attacks on the M.P.A.A. for being out of touch. The marijuana lobby is equally miffed. "This is an absurd ruling rooted in old cultural thinking," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Universal and Mr. Martin unsuccessfully appealed, seeking a PG-13 rating. Conservative groups, meanwhile, find themselves in the rare position of cheering the ratings system instead of condemning it. Dan Isett, director of public policy for the Parents Television Council, which also monitors movies, said "It's Complicated" was a "rare instance" of the board getting a rating correct. "The last I checked, smoking pot was still illegal, illicit behavior," he said. "Too often material gets rated lower than it should be." (12/24)