'Blue Valentine' rating changes from NC-17 to R

The cast of "Blue Valentine" must be tickled pink now that the rating for the controversial drama has been changed from an NC-17 to an R.

Elizabeth Kaltman, vice president of corporate communications at MPAA, confirms to CNN that the rating was, in fact, overturned at a meeting yesterday attended by the movie's producer, Harvey Weinstein. Nothing was cut or toned down to appease the board and the film remains unchanged, says Kaltman.

As Marquee previously reported, "Blue Valentine" stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams were outraged that the film was slapped with an NC-17 because of its explicit sex.

"I mean, you go see films and the guys are getting their arms and their legs cut off and that's an R rating," said Gosling, "but ... if it's in the direction of a woman receiving pleasure, you know, and she's complicit in a sexual act, it's pornographic."

An NC-17 would likely have had a negative impact on both the marketing and ticket sales for the movie, which arrives in theaters December 31. According to Deadline.com, the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) has switched the rating from an NC-17 for “a scene of explicit sexual content" to an R for “strong graphic sexual content, language, and a beating.”