Mike Birbiglia, the comedian and filmmaker whose latest big-screen comedy Don't Think Twice was released in limited theaters a couple weeks back, just went on a delicious Twitter tirade against the MPAA, the film rating organization that remains an easy but deserving target. Needless to say, he is absolutely right about this.
Suicide Squad has machine gun killings and bombings and got a PG-13 rating. @Dontthinkmovie gets an R because adults smoke pot. Confusing?
– Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) August 3, 2016
As I wrote earlier this afternoon, the very un-kid-friendly Suicide Squad indeed features dozens of deaths by automatic weapon and other assorted explosive devices, and Birbiglia is 100% righteous in calling out the MPAA for giving his film an R-rating when the Warner Bros. superhero blockbuster skated by with a PG-13, despite featuring glorified wall-to-wall violence. It is an unconscionable stance for a ratings board that claims to have the best interests of young viewers at heart to take, and they deserve every ounce of Birbiglia's ire.
For his part, Judd Apatow backed up Birbiglia's tweet by responding thusly:
Studios own the ratings board. Violence sells so they make pot and sex the scary thing so they seem caring. https://t.co/S3VpKxUXbu
– Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) August 3, 2016
To which Birbiglia replied:
@JuddApatow @dontthinkmovie that makes a lot of sense and is insane.
– Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) August 3, 2016
Birbiglia and Apatow are far from the first filmmakers to publicly blast the MPAA, and they surely will not be the last. In any event, this latest attack is a more-than-fair criticism of an institution that operates under such blatantly hypocritical standards, and I hope at some point they're held to account for their obvious catering to big-ticket blockbusters at the expense of smaller, gentler indies like Birbiglia's.