This Film Is Not Yet Rated

When director Kirby Dick lets his interviewees talk and when he discusses how the American movie ratings system operates (e.g., the raters will not provide the filmmaker with their notes on how they arrived at the rating) it's a good documentary. When Dick follows the exploits of private detectives he's hired to discover the identities of the raters, the movie strays from its subject and ventures into the territory covered by shows like DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER. The whole exercise of finding the names of the raters and then putting them in bright lights in the movie seems a little immature and vindictive on the director's part. For those not familiar with how the MPAA works, the revelation that the raters have no accountability to anyone is, in itself, shocking enough. The efforts Dick goes through to get the MPAA members' names actually adds very little to the film. Instead of following around the PIs, a more in depth discussion on alternative methods of rating or classifying movies would have strengthened the film considerably, providing possible solutions rather than simply pointing an accusing finger at the culprits and naming them. Overall, Dick's film is a reasonably good documentary, especially for those outside of the American film industry.