The Oscar-nominated director Kirby Dick set out on a mission similar to that of Michael Moore, only engulfing a different topic than his. Basically, what he tried to do was to determine the identities of the nine big shots at the Motion Picture Academy of America, who decide on the fate of every movie that was ever made.

Soon enough, it turned out that it wouldn't be as easy as he initially thought, mainly because the identity of the nine people who form the rating board is a secret well kept. So, Dick had to resort to hiring a private investigator who, by means of the oldest tricks in the book (stakeouts, tailing, hidden cameras and digging through garbage), managed to establish who are the persons that can boost the sales of a movie or, on the contrary, who can limit its distribution.

The movie rating system in the United States includes: G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. According to the daring director, when a movie gets a NC-17 ('adult movie', prohibited to 17 year-olds or under), it's literally labeled 'pornography' and has its distribution limited. Meaning, no investor will be willing to back it up financially and too few theaters will run it. Dare to venture a guess on the rating of 'This Film Is Not Yet Rated'?

The MPAA gave it a NC-17, but Dick already made an appeal to have it changed, which is less than likely to happen. Because, besides uncovering and revealing a secret that the MPAA would have liked to keep under wraps, it includes many sexually-charged scenes taken from other famous films, like 'Boys Don't Cry' and 'Where the Truth Lies'.

After discovering that the ratings board is not made up of concerned parents (as the Academy claimed), but by men and women occupying high positions at the big studios, whose children are adults already, Dick stumbles upon another amazing fact. Violence can easily get an R in a movie, while sex and/or sexual acts will certainly be banned from the big screen.

Even more, scenes presenting female masturbation (if men do it, it's OK) or homosexual acts (again, if women do it, it's overlooked) usually get a NC-17, while thrillers with a body count that passes the 100-limit easily get a PG-13. In other words, violence is good, while sex is still something of a taboo.

Also, it was discovered that big studios are more than favored when it comes to rating their movies, while small or independent ones are prone to getting a rating that will make it impossible for them to reach out to a larger audience.

All in all, 'This Film Is Not Yet Rated' turns out to be more than an interesting documentary, even if you're personally not curious to see who the nine commission members who call all the shots in Hollywood are. It opens Friday, only in select theaters but do check it out if you have the chance. Just to make sure it is something you would want to see, have a look at the 'This Film Is Not Yet Rated' trailer here.