6B - The Michigan Daily - Weac4 4e. - Thursday, September 21, 1995 NC-17 debate rages on over 'Showgirls' By Joshua Rich Daily Film Editor The trailers are startling, and excit- ing. A woman is shown dancing around, licking a pole and flaunting her overflow- ing sexuality all in the company of hun- dreds of drooling, gawking male onlook- ers. The voice-over tells us that the film is so racy that we can't see most of what actually goes on in the film. Nevertheless, we get the idea: this movie is about sex. And besides that, we are told again and again that it is "rated 'NC-17' - no children admitted under the age of 17." But what does all this mean? By now we all have experienced some part of the gross media blitz that has led the new, highly anticipated sex flick "Showgirls" to a movie theater near you. This film is graced with both thebeauty of star Elizabeth Berkley - famous as the cantankerous Jessie Spano on the idiotic cult TV fave "Saved By the Bell" - and a racy storyline scripted by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven (not sur- prisingly, the same team that brought us 1992's controversial hit"Basic Instinct"). Most important, however, is the mys- terious"NC-17"tag thatthepicturebears. It is not the familiar "PG" or "R"ratings that we usually see attached to movies. It isn't even a "G" or a "PG-13" which we notice somewhat less frequently. And if this picture is so explicit and racy, how come it does not get an"X"--prohibiting :.MM~k MN .ie a gil *-.nt iMD} anyone under the age of 18 from viewing the film in a movie theater altogether? "NC-17," was, as one will find, the brainchild of members of the Motion Picture Association ofAmerica (MPAA) who are responsible for rating every movie released by a member production com- pany (including all those in Hollywood and more). For fear that films exception- ally sexual or violent in content wouldbe ignored at the box office if they received an "X" rating, "NC-17" was created as a middle ground between "X" and "R." With an"NC-17," the ratings board hoped films would not be shunned simply be- cause they received the same tag as, say a pornographic feature does. It all started, of course, with director Peter Greenaway's 1989 black comedy "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover," which contained graphic scenes of torture and murder. Recognizing that this film was too severe to receive an "R" rating, yet not bad enough to warrant an "X," the MPAA was unable to decide how the film should be presented. In the end, it was released without a rating - allowing age limitations to be left to the discretion of theaters playing the film. Around came Philip Kaufman's"Henry and June" in 1990, however, and "NC- 17" was born with the hopes of actually being able to market a film that contains somecontroversial and, inthiscase, overt sex scenes. Yet ever since, few films have actually garnered this dreaded label; suf- fice it to say, those released with an "NC- 17" have not lived up to the hopes oftheir distributors or of the MPAA. This year, "Showgirls" is not the first film to receive an "NC-17." Earlier, Larry Clarke'steenageviolence/sex-fest"Kids" also was handed an "NC-17," but it too was ultimately released with no rating. (Interestingly, this movie earnsthe unim- pressive distinction of being the first Disney movie - it was also released along with Miramax out of their child company, Excalibur - to be rated "NC- 17.") In the case of "Kids," the film is being marketed as a controversial look at teen- age life on the streets that most people, regardless of age, may appreciate. Come on ... like anyone younger than about 16 will really like seeing other youths beat and rape each other! The distributors of "Showgirls," on the other hand, make no false claims about their picture - it has an "NC-17," and they are proud of it. Indeed, "Showgirls" has the potential to earn more money - and certainly get more publicity - than any other picture with as high a rating. Besides the hordes ofviewers intent ofgetting a glimpse ofa former child actor in the buff- and you know who you are, guys - many will amazingly show up in search of a fine motion picture. While previews don't denythe film'srating,"Showgirls"is also being marketed as an interesting and en- tertaining movie worthy of our time and our money. This publicity line may be quite true. Growing up in an age of censorship, political correctness and general conser- vatism, we children of the 1980s and 1990s are quite unaware of a time when films were judged on their artistic and entertainment merits. Such a time did, in fact, exist. And perhaps it will take a film like "Showgirls" to remind us how a film can still be of reasonably good quality even afterreceiving such a controversial disclaimer. In the past, this did not stop other questionable movies from making money or gaining great acclaim. Shortly after the MPAA ratings system was introduced in the 1960s, two films, John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" (1969) - the only "X"-rated movie ever to win a Best Picture Academy Award - and Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) both re- ceived "X" ratings. But people contin- ued to watch and critics and peers still lauded these motion pictures. Furthermore, following the 1984 re- lease of Joe Dante's "Gremlins," a hor- ror movie disguised as a childrens' fan- tasy flick, many films have made sub- stantial profits and cinematic statements despite their "PG-13" warnings. Un- doubtedly most famous in the bunch is Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" (1993), the highest worldwide-gross- ing movie ever. Nowadays, with more and more mov- ies earning "PG-13" or "R" ratings, and "PG" and most certainly "G" becoming phenomena of the past, an "NC-17" label poses less of a threat to film pro- ducers as it might have before. We, as the collective American consumers, are getting more used to the fact that mov- ies are violent and explicit in their lan- guage and sexual content. It is for this reason that 1995 is the right time for a film like "Showgirls" to be released out of a mainstream Hollywood studio with an "NC-17" ... and potentially survive. While the film's impending success may further trivialize the complicated MPAA rat- ing system, it should lead us to re- member that, above all, movies are forms of art. They continually require our complete attention and always deserve our open minds. The Grizzly Peak: serving up suds to A4quared beer lovers. Y ELLOW CAB 2050 Comme=e Ann Arbor, M48103 663-3355 Largest and newest fleet 4 can share the fare Service to metro airport Night Ride service * 663-3888 24 Hour Taxi Service Grizzly Peak i opn By Maureen Sirhal Arborrestaurants. What makes the Griz- Daily Staff Reporter zly Peak unique is the house-brewed Here's the second installment of the beers you can't find anywhere else. brewery pub series. What's with the "We have two brewers: Greg Burke trend in brewing companies in Ann and Ron Jeffries. They both had brew- Arbor? The Grizzly Peak answers this ing experience," explained Kucera. The question. restaurant currently serves ale beers Owner Jon Carlson began his en- because they can be brewed in10 to 14 deavor to open the Grizzly Peak more days. than two years ago. "I basically fell in "We don't carry lagers yet because love with (microbreweries)," he said. "I they usually take about six weeks to went to California and experienced my brew," Burke said. "But we will first microbrewery. (I) definitely change some of the beers for different thought there was a market (in Ann seasons. We will have an Oktoberfest Arbor)." ale and an end of the year holiday- With the passage of a Michigan law style beer." permitting microbreweries and brew The Grizzly Peak pays homage to the pubs, Carlson, then a24-year-old gradu- University with their Victors' Golden ate student, set to work renovating the Ale, a lightly roasted barley beer. The Washington Street site. Grizzly Peak Pale Ale is a full-hopped "(Brewing companies) have been beer that resembles Sierra Nevada Pale popular for a while. They offer a prod- Ale, forthose ofyouwhoneed alabelin uct you can't get anywhere else," Griz- order to identify beers (like me). zly Peak manager Dan Kucera stated. The Grizzly Peak delivers its own There's amajor downsidetofrequent- version of a County Cork Irish Stout, ing brewing pubs for all you Bud Light and their Steel-head red porter main- fans. Once you've had the home brew at tains the sweetness of a porter but adds these restaurants, you may not want to a deep roasted flavor. In addition to the go back to mass-produced beer. homemade beer, the Grizzly Peak also "I love the Golden Ale," said Engi- offers a wide variety of bottled beers, neering senior Molly Macdonald. "They wine and other beverages ofthat nature. serve the beer in half yards, which gives So what makes this brewing pub stand a different twist to it." out from other Ann Arbor restaurants Carlson maintains that the Grizzly and breweries? Peak offers the familiarity of a bar with "The atmosphere is a lot of fun. It is the quality ofa fine restaurant. "I wanted relaxed and the wait staff is incredible," a place with a bar but I also wanted added Macdonald. great food," he explained. The Grizzly Peak Brewing Company The Grizzly Peak offers a variety of is located west of Main Street on the entrees, from calamari to the Grizz corner of Ashley and Washington Burger. While the variety of food may streets. They're open from 11 a.m to 11 be a little more sophisticated than at p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and Amer's Mediterranean Deli, the prices 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Fridays and Satur- are competitive with those of other Ann days. 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SPOT'S BLUE FRONT x' I U FRONT NOGGIN'S HAIR SHOP BURGER KING r NORMANDIE FLOWERS THE BURRO OASIS DELI ~ CAMPUS BARBER & BEAUTY SALOON OLD FASHIONED SOUP KITCHEN I CAMPUS BIKE & TOY ORIENTAL EXPRESS CAMPUS CORNER PARTHENON RESTAURANT I CHINA GATE RESTAURANT PIZZA BOB'S I I COLLECTED WORKS PIZZA HOUSE COTTAGE INN PIZZA PIZZERIA UNO I 1 CONDOMS 101 RENDEZ-VOUS CAFE DAVID'S BOOKS , RIT DRUMS OF ANN ARBOR DECKER DRUGS . ROUTE 66 I DECKER ELECTRONICS ae -SALAD DAYS DIAG PARTY SHOPPE SHAMAN DRUM BOOKSHOP DISCOUNT RECORDS SPIRIT SHOPPE ELMO'S SUPERSHIRTS STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN ENCORE RECORDINGS STATE STREET BARBER SHOP I ERIC'S ACTION SPORTSWEAR STATE THEATRE ISTT ESPRESSO R IESPRESSO ROYALE SUBWAY I FIEGEL'S SUWANEE SPRINGS LEATHER I I FLEETWOOD DINER THANO'S LAMPLIGHTER R E xOUSE'TOUCHDOWN CAFE I "r I GRATZI COFFEE HOUSE r J, A OE