If you’ve been following the development of Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno” for the past year then you know that the comedian has been busy crafting a film that was genetically engineered to make a lot of people very uncomfortable.  Hell, just seeing Bruno walk into a church dressed in leather was enough to make him reviled in Kansas – an achievement I’m sure he is extremely proud of.

Considering that “Bruno” is an incredibly gay character who enjoys incredibly gay sex, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the MPAA movie ratings folks have seen fit to slap the film with an initial rating of NC-17.  That’s the ‘not-quite porn but still quite-naughty’ rating, in case you forgot.

According to TheWrap.com, the ratings board had objections over several sexually explicit scenes in the film - including one in which two men attempt oral sex in a hot tub while one is holding a baby.  They had problems with that?  Who could have foreseen such a thing?  Now I’m sure if the baby had been left out of the mix that scene would have gotten a pass.  Because what do Americans love more than watching gay men go down on each other in bubbly water? 

A spokesman for Universal confirmed the NC-17 and added that it was “far too early to say that there is any struggle to get (an R) as the process is only at its inception.”

In fact, “Borat” was not granted the all-powerful ‘R’ on its first pass by the American movie censors either.  A few minutes had to be trimmed from the final US print before the film was deemed suitable for 17 year-old eyes.  I’ve sat through the film’s naked wrestling scene a few times now and I can safely say that they could have gone a bit further with that edit.  But that’s just me.  Give me raw violence over hairy testicles any day.

Sacha Baron Cohen is said to be simultaneously appealing the board’s decision and preparing a more hetero-friendly cut of his comedy. 

“With the quantity of material available, I cannot foresee a problem,” one unidentified studio ‘spokesman’ was quoted as saying.  Another executive added that “a guy like Sacha shoots what he wants, and then he negotiates.”

Considering what I’ve heard about the 20 minutes of footage from Bruno that was screened at the SXSW Festival a few weeks back, Baron Cohen is going to have to negotiate his little ass off to get a lot of his material past the MPAA.  Then again, if I only get to see 30 seconds of pantomimed sodomy as opposed to the three full minutes they shot, I think I’ll live. 

On the other hand, it is only March.  There is plenty of time to bargain for an ‘R’ before “Bruno” struts into theatres on July 10, and as we all know – Sacha Baron Cohen is one persuasive motherfucker.  Just ask the good people of Kansas.