And now for our weekly dose of “seriously, WTF?” a theater in Sandpoint, Idaho has cancelled their screening of the film Wild Canaries, a sly murder mystery comedy we recently reviewed on this site. In a statement released by Panida Theaters executive director, Patricia Walker White, the film was pulled”due to inappropriate content that was not disclosed, nor represented in any of the materials reviewed for this film. It’s unrated status should clearly have been an R rating. It contained subject matter not in keeping with the standards of the Panida.”
Panida is no stranger to screening R-rated movies, having shown the Oscar-winning Birdman in January. So what content does Panida find so unacceptable? According to their Facebook page, they were unaware that the film contained “drug use, strong language, and sex.” The film does indeed contain cursing and marijuana, but there really isn’t any sex to speak of. But you know what this movie does have?
Specifically two lesbians, played by Alia Shawkat and Annie Parisse. After some outcry on their Facebook page, Panida was quick to backtrack, claiming that they only delayed the screening and will be showing it at a later date with a revised description. Apparently Panida feels it misrepresented the film to movie-goers, and wanted the public to be aware that the film (which is unrated) merits an R rating.
The film’s star, Sophia Takal, took to Facebook to air her suspicions regarding the cancelled screenings. She wrote that the film “has no nudity, no sex scenes. It has two scenes where a guy is smoking marijuana. It has two lesbian main characters. It’s hard not to jump to the conclusion that that’s why they pulled it.”
The film is currently available on VOD. To find film screenings near you, check out www.wildcanariesmovie.com.
