Yesterday, SlashFilm broke news of a request WB had sent to theaters asking them to pull the Hangover 2 trailer that had been playing before Source Code. Many speculated as to why, but as with many things, it all seems to go back to monkey BJs.
The MPAA approves trailers before they are placed in front of particular movies. In this case, the trailer for the “Hangover” follow-up — which, among other scenes, includes a visual gag involving a water bottle and a monkey performing a simulated sex act — was approved to run only ahead of R-rated movies. It shouldn’t have run before “Source Code,” which is rated PG-13, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak about it publicly.
Update, 12:37 p.m.: Warner Bros. has issued a statement, saying, “In our haste to meet the placement schedule for this trailer, we failed to properly vet the final version with the MPAA. We acted immediately to correct the mistake and removed the trailer from screens.” The trailer preceding [the R-rated] “Scream,” meanwhile, will be a version of the original trailer instead of a new piece of material. [LATimes]
It’s always funny to me trying to predict what the MPAA will say is or isn’t over the line. Zach Galifianakis can get blown by an old lady, but only if you use a fake penis. Your Highness can have minotaur rape, but only if you tell them it has a cow wang (because getting raped with a cow penis is apparently more acceptable than getting raped with a man penis). Meanwhile, how is having a monkey suck on a water-bottle penis offensive? As males, how old are we when we first decide that anything vaguely cylindrical is our wiener? Three? Four? I’m pretty sure you don’t need to be 17 to understand the look-it’s-my-wiener game. It’s one of the earliest-expressed sections of the Y chromosome, along with fart sounds and sword play*. (*Also the title of my memoir).