Everyone who has seen Slumdog Millionaire at the Toronto Film Festival or in advance press screenings was shocked this week to learn that Danny Boyle's new movie earned an R-rating from the ever-brilliant MPAA. Was there a graphic sex scene in there that we missed? A bunch of Hindi profanity that didn't make it through the subtitles? Was there anything in there remotely as disturbing as The Dark Knight?

The answer to all of those questions is "no," of course, but that hasn't stopped the MPAA from sticking to its ridiculous guns. At an interview in New York today for his film, Boyle said the ratings decision "made me really sad. There's nothing we can do about it, and I think that's really..." His answer got interrupted by a horde of journalists looking for photos and quotes, but given the salty language that has earned deserved R-ratings for some of his past movies, there might have been an f-bomb in there somewhere.

Everyone makes a huge deal out of stupid MPAA ratings every couple of months or so, but the Slumdog decision seems especially ridiculous-- the movie is rated R for the "intensity" of the experience, which could mean the movie's fast-cutting, bright colors, or even the occasional appearance of a gun. I'm sure someone out there has cried racism, given that the movie is set in India; while I'm not particularly inclined to buy into that conspiracy theory, it does seem to be easier to slap an unfair rating on an independent, foreign-made movie than something as big as, say, the next Batman movie.

Slumdog Millionaire comes out Nov. 14, and I dare all the under-17s out there to go see it as soon as possible, and prove that you won't be scarred by the experience. Just don't tell anyone I told you.