# why is Frost/Nixon R rated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 7, 2008, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118 "2008-12-07T11:48:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/21 "2008-12-07T19:29:19Z")
If you, like me, are old enough to remember Nixon, and remember HATING Nixon, then the movie could get an “R” for the fright, disturbing images, factors alone. But it’s really the language. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/22 "2008-12-07T19:38:45Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Gawd… just _imagining_ Nixon having sex… there is not enouth mind bleach in the world to scrub that from my brain. [insert]puking smilie[/insert] You never heard the joke about Nixon after viewing the film “Deep Throat?” He just couldn’t get it down Pat. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/23 "2008-12-07T19:42:18Z")
I saw it last night and couldn’t believe it was rated R. There was some strong language, but it wasn’t at Tarantino levels or anything. And that was it – no sex, no violence, no inappropriate adult themes. It’s the most in appropriate rating for a movie I’ve come across in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/24 "2008-12-07T19:51:24Z")
If they said “fuck” more than once, that’s all it takes. Yes, the rules are stupid. You could show a decapitation and probably still get a PG-13. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/25 "2008-12-07T20:45:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > You never heard the joke about Nixon after viewing the film “Deep Throat?” Why yes, actually, not too long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/26 "2008-12-07T21:02:57Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Kissinger/Nixon shower scene. :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: OK, now you’re really scaring me. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/27 "2008-12-07T21:08:08Z")
Did anybody see (the real) David Frost on _The Daily Show_ recently? He was on to promote the DVDs of the actual interviews, and is incidentally a big fan of Stewart’s. He said that Nixon’s handlers had warned Frost before “he doesn’t do small talk” and Frost agreed, saying he was one of the least personable people on Earth when the cameras weren’t on him. While I didn’t like Stone’s NIXON, I thought Anthony Hopkins did a good job in his portrayal- especially when he’s playing piano and mirthlessly singing happy songs. I’m hoping the DVD of the movie will include the Eric Idle/Dan Akroyd FROST NIXON ([transcript](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76tnixon.phtml)) as one of the extras. > [@](#): > > NIXON "Of course, I – I do have some childhood memories that come back to me now and again. I remember, uh, one particular morning in April of 1921. I – I remember coming down to the kitchen, where my mother was preparing the meal that we called “breakfast”. Now, she – she’d pour dry cereal into a bowl… and then we’d pour milk on top of the cereal, and – and sometimes sugar, depending upon whether we… wanted it sweet or not. And, uh – then we’d stir the whole thing around in the bowl with our spoo-oo-oons. " > > [FROST is dumbfounded by this _revelation_] Idle and several other Pythons had worked for David Frost and didn’t have warm fuzzies for him. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/28 "2008-12-07T21:16:36Z")
[Hopkins as Nixon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cCPzGRIHMM)- speaks to the language issue. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/29 "2008-12-07T21:19:30Z")
> [@Lucky\_13](#): > > :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: > > OK, now you’re really scaring me. What? You don’t think members of the Log Cabin Republicans write slash fanfic? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/30 "2008-12-07T22:06:40Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Kissinger/Nixon shower scene. $250, you owe me $250. $1 per brain cell. You break them, you buy them. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/31 "2008-12-07T22:39:35Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Someone who can possibly be this young as to not remember Nixon and his language makes me feel even older and creakier than usual. :smack: I remember Nixon’s language. I’m just familiar with the fact that in Hollywood “serious dramas” are intentionally given one or two bits of profanity because of the belief that the rating changes the public reception of the film. This may be true or it may be studio executives holding down strange superstitions, but it’s part of how the movie industry works. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/32 "2008-12-07T23:03:42Z")
So . . . does this mean there are reenactments? Because there are no swear word in the actual interviews. Just when I thought Ron Howard might actually have made a movie that I’d want to see, too. But reenactments directed by Ron Howard? Sorry, not gonna bother. Dang. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/33 "2008-12-08T00:09:16Z")
I’m not sure what you mean. Did you expect a movie containing nothing but the dialogue contained in the actual interviews themselves? They made one of those before, and at that time, there was no question about the physical verisimilitude of the leads… ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/34 "2008-12-08T00:19:35Z")
[Kids-In-Mind](http://www.kids-in-mind.com/help/about.htm) gives an [exhaustive listing](http://www.kids-in-mind.com/f/frostnixon.htm) of all the potentially objectionable elements in it. \*\*\* Ponder ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/35 "2008-12-08T01:12:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [Hopkins as Nixon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cCPzGRIHMM)- speaks to the language issue. Meh, my Gramma was worse. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/36 "2008-12-08T01:22:49Z")
Just watched this flick today. It is fantastic by the way, way better than I could have expected and I think may even be better than the play (and for me that is HIGH praise). The R is probably because the phrase cocksucker is in the film several times. It would seem that it was a favorite expletive of Nixon’s, and cocksucker even once get’s you an R IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/37 "2008-12-08T01:43:43Z")
I was about to post that I couldn’t remember any specific use of foul language - I completely blanked on cocksucker. I guess if that’s the rules, that’s the rules. I think it’s a worthwhile movie for kids to see (by kids I mean teenagers) so that’s unfortunate. I liked it a lot by the way, definitely one of my favorites of the year. Others who know more about Nixon than myself can comment, but I even thought it was fair to Richard Nixon. I didn’t hate him at the end. Langella is amazing in the last 2/3 of the movie, as well (and is simply very good in the first 1/3). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/38 "2008-12-08T01:49:20Z")
From **Ponderoid** ’s link: > [@](#): > > when the woman gets out of the bed we see her bare breasts and back. At the same time? Who’s the director, Picasso? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/39 "2008-12-08T02:05:26Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean. Did you expect a movie containing nothing but the dialogue contained in the actual interviews themselves? They made one of those before, and at that time, there was no question about the physical verisimilitude of the leads… Sorry, I was unclear. To clarify: I don’t think there is currently a gun big enough to make me watch another Ron Howard movie. Ron Howard is near the top of my list of very most unfavorite directors. Ever. But, when I was under the impression that the movie would be a reenactment of the actual interviews, then there wouldn’t be much opportunity for Howard to fuck it up. Since now it sounds it will be just another Ron Howard movie, I’m gonna wait till it comes out on DVD, and watch it on an empty stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118/40 "2008-12-08T02:13:40Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Has a film ever been rated X/NC-17 solely for foul language? I remember when [Patti Rocks](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095835/) was released, it was, IIRC, originally rated NC-17 solely for language, but either appealed or edited down to R. I can’t imagine that it’s particularly shocking these days, but I haven’t seen it… Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-frost-nixon-r-rated/476118.md?page=3)