The 4:30 Movie is the sixteenth feature film from director Kevin Smith – and while he was making the movie, he thought he was making something that would get a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association ratings board. But the MPA saw it differently. When they had the chance to watch the movie earlier this year, they felt the sexual references in the dialogue were enough for the movie to earn an R rating for sexual content. Smith appealed the rating (and subscribers to That Kevin Smith Club got some interesting insight into the appeals process), but the ratings board decided to stick with the R. They confirmed today that The 4:30 Movie will remain an R rated film.

Smith has a history of being able to get his films re-rated on appeal. Clerks and Zack and Miri Make a Porno were both given NC-17 ratings, but were re-rated R on appeal. Jersey Girl was an R, but became a PG-13 on appeal. Yoga Hosers got an R, then the ratings board switched it to PG-13 before Smith even made his appeal. But he couldn’t get them to change their minds this time – and in fact, they were even able to get him to see where they were coming from with their decision to give The 4:30 Movie an R.

Set in the summer of 1986, this one is a coming-of-age comedy that follows three sixteen-year-old friends who spend their Saturdays sneaking into movies at the local multiplex. But when one of the guys also invites the girl of his dreams to see the latest comedy, each of the teens will learn something serious about life and love before the credits roll.

Austin Zajur (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark), Nicholas Cirillo (Outer Banks), and Reed Northrup (High Maintenance) play the sixteen year old friends, with Siena Agudong (Resident Evil) as the dream girl. Ken Jeong (The Hangover), Sam Richardson (Veep), Genesis Rodriguez (Tusk), Justin Long (Barbarian), Jason Lee (Almost Famous), Rachel Dratch (I Love My Dad), Kate Micucci (The Big Bang Theory), Adam Pally (Sonic the Hedgehog), Harley Quinn Smith (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), and Method Man (Power Book II: Ghost) are also in the cast.

The 4:30 Movie was filmed at Smodcastle Cinemas in New Jersey, a theatre Smith now co-owns and used to hang out in every weekend when he was a teenager. Liz Destro, Josh Bachove, and Jordan Monsanto produced, with Bill Bromiley, Shanan Becker, and Jonathan Saba executive producing.

Smith has previously said, “The day we bought Smodcastle Cinemas, I not only reclaimed an integral piece of my childhood, I also suddenly had access to a visually interesting and cost-free movie location! So I started writing a personal paean to the past for us 70s and 80s kids – the pre-information generation who grew up without the Internet, when romance and relationships required much more than a swipe to get started, and the idea of asking out someone you had a crush on was as terrifying as the looming threat of nuclear war.“

Saban Films has picked up the worldwide rights to The 4:30 Movie, which Smith will be taking on a multi-city national tour that will be followed by a nationwide theatrical rollout. Specific dates have not yet been revealed.

Are you looking forward to The 4:30 Movie? What do you think of the film getting an R for sexual content? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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