Earlier this fall, we shared the trailer for a quirky teen indie comedy called G.B.F., about a gang of popular girls fighting over who gets to befriend the newly outed gay boy at the high school.

It's a fairly innocent film that features no nudity, no violence and not even a single F-bomb (either one).  But the curmudgeons over at the Motion Picture Association of America found the film to be "adult" enough to slap an R rating on it, which would block moviegoers under 17 from seeing it without a parent or adult guardian.

Without the presence of graphic sexual content or violence, was the MPAA just bothered by the mere existence of gay-teen sexuality?  G.B.F. director Darren Stein expressed his disappointment:

I always thought of G.B.F. as a PG-13 movie, but we were given an R "For Sexual References" while not having a single F-bomb, hint of nudity or violence in the film. Perhaps the ratings box should more accurately read "For Homosexual References" or "Too Many Scenes of Gay Teens Kissing." I look forward to a world where queer teens can express their humor and desire in a sweet, fun teen film that doesn't get tagged with a cautionary R.

Gawker's Rich Juzwiak, whose full analysis explores every instance of even potentially "offensive" content, lays into the MPAA's problematic regulatory practices:

In G.B.F., there aren't even really suggestions of sex, just a few brief make-out scenes, which are filmed in medium shots with no visible tongue and barely parting lips. The couples (sometimes gay, sometimes straight) that kiss are always clothed (there's a brief shot of the principal character's abs at one point, and some guys in underwear at another). No one says "fuck" at all—two instances of that word will typically what earn a movie an R-rating...

It seems like the MPAA is saying that kids need to be protected from discussions about being gay and guys kissing. That's an antiquated paranoia that years of increased gay visibility and acceptance have proven to be grounded in bigoted fantasy.

It doesn't look like Stein can afford to appeal the MPAA's rating. Do we smell a Kickstarter campaign in the offing?