R-rated films that should be PG-13
In other words, the softest or tamest R rated movies! Some of these R-rated movies have content that is pretty mild and more appropriate for a PG-13 rating. Furthermore, even some actual PG-13 rated movies tend to be more intense than these as the violence/sex/language goes. The list is currently incomplete. I'll try expanding it as I find more films.
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- DirectorsLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.Bloodless shootouts in a very stylized 'unrealistic' way, and in a science fiction film. Most countries gave this a PG-13 equivalent.
- DirectorEugenio MiraStarsElijah WoodJohn CusackKerry BishéA pianist with stage fright endures a performance under the eyes of a mysterious sniper, who will shoot and kill him if a wrong note is played.Two offscreen killings. Was clearly shot for a PG-13 rating. Two F words gave it an R rating. The most tamest PG-13 film I've ever seen IMO.
- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsJohnny DeppGwyneth PaltrowEwan McGregorJuggling angry Russians, the British Mi5, and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part-time rogue Charlie Mortdecai races to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain a code that leads to lost gold.3 uses of F words gave this Johnny English-like spy comedy an R rating. Even Austin Powers is more R-rated compared to this.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.12 uses of fuck where main character says it at the same time (justified by context). Film is very PG-13 in content.
- DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsKate WinsletJudy DavisLiam HemsworthA glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.Just 2 F words in a very PG-13-esque, lighthearted dramedy.
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsPierce BrosnanMaria BelloGerard ButlerA perfect family's dynamic is ruined by a kidnapper's brutally efficient plot.Two F words and PG-13 level of violence (punches and slaps). Descriptor says "sexual content" - PG style making out and a woman undressing to her undergarments is not R-rated style "sexual content". Not sure what MPAA was smoking when they rated the film and gave the heavy loaded descriptors for this.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsIan McKellenMartin FreemanRichard ArmitageBilbo Baggins and company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising darkness.Extended Edition was bizarrely rated R - Just orcs and trolls being beheaded with bloody results. Still too cartoonish for R rating.
- DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonVera FarmigaRon LivingstonParanormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.Including its sequels. No blood. Mild violence. Just very frightening in tone. Not any more graphic or disturbing the PG-13 Japanese horror remakes in the 2000s...
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEmbeth DavidtzMarcus GilbertWhen Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home.Comical, stylized, mostly bloodless creature violence. Only given an R rating because part of the Evil Dead series.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsIsabelle HuppertChloë Grace MoretzMaika MonroeA young woman befriends a lonely widow who's harboring a dark and deadly agenda toward her.Only one brief scene where a finger is severed (with brief blood spray). Lord of the Rings had that, but the MPAA didn't allow it here it seems.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, to kill again.Infrequent, mostly bloodless violence. No language. One moderate sex scene and a topless character may have contributed to the R rating, but still isn't graphic enough for the R rating.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMichael J. FoxTrini AlvaradoPeter DobsonAfter a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.Mild comedic violence with some blood. Not R-rated material. Again, rated R because of director (Peter Jackson) who was prior associated with very graphic horror films. Post-LOTR, this would've been easily PG-13.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsLeonardo DiCaprioArmie HammerNaomi WattsJ. Edgar Hoover, powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, looks back on his professional and personal life.1 F word and 2 uses of cocksucker upped the rating for this pretty tame R rated biographical drama.
- DirectorCharles Herman-WurmfeldStarsAdam CarollaOswaldo CastilloHeather JuergensenA 40-year-old who gave up a promising amateur boxing career 21 years ago is offered a path to the Olympics.Just 2 F words in a film that lacks violence, drug use and other adult material!
- DirectorsLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossThe human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.Bloodless stylized violence, no graphic language, just shootouts and martial arts violence.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsAdrienne BarbeauJamie Lee CurtisJanet LeighLocal legend tells of a ship lured on to the rocks of Antonio Bay being enveloped by a supernatural cloud as it sank; the myth says that when this mysterious fog returns, the victims will rise up from the depths seeking vengeance.Just some creature violence that is mostly bloodless. If Spielberg was behind this it would've been PG even!
- DirectorDarren SteinStarsMichael J. WillettPaul IaconoSasha PieterseWhat happens after Tanner is outed by his classmates and becomes the title "gay best friend" for three high school queen bees?PG-13 style teen comedy. Only rated R for its gay themes.
- DirectorFrancis LawrenceStarsKeanu ReevesRachel WeiszDjimon HounsouDetective Angela approaches Constantine, a demon hunter, to help her investigate her twin sister's mysterious death. As he digs deeper, he realizes that demons are trying to enter the human world.Fantastical violence with one uses of fuck - This was also clearly aimed for a PG-13 rating.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsSteve CarellChanning TatumMark RuffaloU.S. Olympic wrestling champions and brothers Mark Schultz and Dave Schultz join "Team Foxcatcher", led by eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont, as they train for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, but John's self-destructive behavior threatens to consume them all.Scene of drug use contributed to the R rating. Otherwise film content is PG-13.
- DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsNick NolteTrevor MorganTimothy HuttonAn aging, disillusioned alcoholic (Nolte) gets a younger friend (Morgan) and wants him to pose as his son at a school reunion.Rated R only for a crude sexual comment.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsRobin TunneyFairuza BalkNeve CampbellA newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.Violence is moderate. 1 F word. No sex or nudity. Clearly aimed for a PG-13.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonJulia RobertsPatrick StewartA taxi driver with a penchant for conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of these theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.PG-13 level of violence generally. No graphic language or sex.
- DirectorStephen ChowStarsStephen ChowWah YuenQiu YuenIn Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.Intense stylized violence, rarely any blood.
- DirectorsDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaWhen a teenager from the slums of Mumbai is interrogated about his suspicious performance on a quiz show, he revisits various events from his past to explain how he knew all the answers.Two F words in a film that has moderate violence and disturbing images that are at PG-13 boundaries.
- DirectorSam LiuStarsKevin ConroyMark HamillTara StrongAs Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness.Some violent animated images (that aren't even graphic). MPAA rated this thinking it was live action. The Dark Knight is more violent than this.
