'Fifty Shades Of Grey' Officially Has An R-Rating

We've only got a little over a month until the film adaptation of E.L. James' runaway hit Fifty Shades Of Grey hits theaters. Now we've finally got an actual rating for the thing: Fifty Shades will be rated good ol' R. Is anyone surprised?

The rating is news mainly because it means that the film avoided the dreaded NC-17 rating that can be a death knell for some films. After all, Blue Valentine was initially slammed with an NC-17 rating before those involved with the film — Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams included — publicly objected on the grounds that the film had been rated higher than other film with similar sex scenes just because it included cunnilingus. Considering Fifty Shades is known primarily for being a phenomenon thanks to its largely female audience, that it would fall victim to the same sexist habits of the MPAA was completely not out of the question.

Luckily for all Fifty Shades fans out there — save perhaps those under 17 — the film will sail into theaters with a very understandable R-rating. If you're curious what exactly they're warning those youngsters away from, it's "strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language."

But hey, aren't all those things pretty much the entire point of a Fifty Shades Of Grey movie?

Image: Universal Pictures