When Films Are Too Adult for an R : New category might serve moviegoers better than going directly to dreaded X

There’s increasing unhappiness with the movie industry’s current system for rating movies.

The problem is that somewhere between R- and X-rated movies are films that are too adult for an R but are hardly in the “Debbie Does Dallas” class. It’s probably time for a category between R (Restricted: Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) and X (no one under 17 admitted).

The Motion Picture Assn. of America created the ratings system in 1968 to replace the outdated and prudish Hays Code, established in 1924. Though the present system is entirely voluntary, it is a major improvement. However, one unintended result is that exhibitors nationwide are reluctant to show an unrated film.

This forces some directors to cut out footage that technically qualifies the film for an X when in fact “Debbie” actually never really gets much past Cincinnati. Thus a new category--say an AR, for Adult Restricted--would serve the purpose of alerting moviegoers that the film may have gamy scenes without forcing those scenes to be excised or branded with the scarlet letter of an X.

Today, the X rating has become synonymous with pornography; TV and newspapers, including this one, will not take advertising for X-rated films.

Jack Valenti, president of the association and creator of the present ratings system, opposes a new category between R and X. He maintains that the purpose of a rating system is to provide parents with guidance for taking their young children to the movies.

He says that surveys done annually for the last decade indicate nearly three-fourths of parents with young children find the ratings useful. He maintains that a new Adult category would compel the ratings board to make judgments on artistic merit, which it has never done before.

The current system, however, leaves little choice for studios and producers. Since an X-rating today is the kiss of death at the box office, producers typically are contractually bound to edit their films until they qualify for a more acceptable R rating. Indeed, much of the R-rated category consists of films originally intended strictly for adults.

Creating a new category would hardly be unprecedented. In 1984 the MPAA added PG-13 to accommodate Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom.” It was initially deemed too violent for preteens. An AR-rated film would simply alert adults that the film is for them--and no one else.