Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams' New Film Loses NC-17 Rating, Keeps Sex Scene

Entertainment Tonight, Thursday, December 9, 2010, 7:23am (PST)

'Blue Valentine' has gone from being described as having "explicit sexual content" to "strong graphic sexual content," which has given it a new R rating.

The Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) switched the movie's rating from NC-17 to R after the Weinstein Co. submitted an appeal, according to The Hollywood Reporter. One of the sexual scenes in question portrays Ryan Gosling performing oral sex on Michelle Williams.

"'Explicit' is usually only used to describe NC-17 material,” Joan Graves, head of CARA, told THR. "'Graphic' means the sexuality is strong, even graphic in some areas, but seems to give the correct information to parents."

'Blue Valentine' follows a couple, Dean and Cindy, who are trying to save their marriage. During the course of one night, they are flooded with memories of their relationship, from their courtship to love lost in past and present moments in time.

Ryan told ET, "I'm more proud of this movie than any film that I've made," and of working with Michelle, "We felt like horses banging against the boards, you know? As soon as they said 'action,' we were off. … Everything that I did was a reaction to something that she was doing, and she really raised the bar for me in a big way." The movie opens Dec. 31 in limited release.

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