Kevin Smith’s Yoga Hosers (review) was rated R by the MPAA and he wanted to fight that, something he’s done many times before. After all, both Clerks and Zack and Miri Make a Porno were first rated NC-17 and he appealed them, reducing both to an R, which widely increases theater runs. So, Smith had an appeals screening all set but then was notified that the movie’s rating was dropped to PG-13 without any explanation.
While this is a big win for Smith – a PG-13 movie written and directed by Smith that stars Johnny Depp? That’s got some box office gold written on it for sure – it does beg the question, why? What changed for the MPAA considering the movie had received no cuts or edits whatsoever? Why even have “rules” if they’re willing to change them after a second screening? Does that bode well for other films? It’s definitely something to keep in mind as criticism of the MPAA comes from all sorts of places.
The movie, also written by Smith, centers on two teenage yoga nuts who have an after-school job at a Manitoba convenience store called Eh-2-Zed. When an ancient evil rises from beneath Canada’s crust and threatens their big invitation to a 12th-grade party, the Colleens join forces with a legendary man hunter from Montreal named Guy Lapointe (Depp) to fight for their lives with “all seven chakras, one Warrior Pose at a time,” according to the producers.
Now that Smith is happy with the rating, hopefully we’ll see an official release date in the near future.