Kevin Smith Has Some Suggestions For How 'Birds of Prey' Could Have Reached 'Girls' With A PG-13 Rating

By Jodi Smith | Film | April 14, 2020 |

By Jodi Smith | Film | April 14, 2020 |

I like Kevin Smith. I really do. However, he’s said something that burns my ass right up.

Kevin Smith on #BirdsOfPrey's R-rating: "f you dropped it to a PG-13, I think you would’ve hit your core… It’s about ladies getting together, girl power. And I would imagine a bunch of tween girls would have really enjoyed the hell out of that" https://t.co/SLGrl5b7aL

— Variety (@Variety) April 13, 2020

Now, I’m going to do something I rarely do and that is to embed one of my own tweets. This is how I feel about his comment and then I’ll expand upon that with less foul language (Probably.)

My teen girl fucking loves Birds of Prey. She isn't fucking allergic to goddamned cussing. We all know whiny ass baby men are the reason it underperformed SEND MOTHERFUCKING TWEET

— Jodi Smith (@Jodi_L_Smith) April 14, 2020

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is a fantastic movie for fans of Harley, Huntress, Black Canary, and BoP as a whole. You’ve got the New 52 version of Harley, broken up with her Puddin’ and learning to stand on her own two feet for the first time. There is no huge origin story, as Huntress is managed beautifully by writer Christina Hodson and director Cathy Yan as an integral part of the plot and not a tiresome, derailing addition.

Now, that’s enough for this DC flick to stand on its own, cursing and violence included. Harley, and Margot Robbie, has earned every f-bomb allowed with that R-rating and the violence that comes with it. Why is it that a female-led movie that includes strong —but maybe bonkers— women need to tone itself down to reach an audience of girls?

Aren’t girls allowed to see the violence and hear the language we don’t bat an eye at for boys? Hell, aren’t women allowed to have superhero movies with women in the lead roles that are just as violent and full of foul language as Deadpool? The answer is a resounding motherf*cking YES to both of those.

Sure, maybe some people don’t want their precious angel girls to hear or see what Birds of Prey is dishing up. Great. We both know that those same types of people that have boys told their rough and tumble tykes that this was a girl’s movie. So how would changing the rating to a PG-13 help anything? It only declaws Harley without The Joker, which is bullsh*t.

We all know that whiny man-boys that didn’t see certain lead characters as f*ckable enough and will do anything to avoid more female-driven, -written, -directed, and -starring comic book movies hit the screen certainly did assist BoP: AtFEoOHQ underperform in theaters and during the VOD early release. That’s who needs a talking to, right there. That’s who to blame. That’s what needs to change, not this movie. This amazing, action-packed movie that takes Harley where her fans want to see her go.

So f*ck off with your hot takes on swapping quality for more money. Actual fans got what they wanted and the movie made money. End of story.