France Gives 'Fifty Shades' Lenient 12 Rating

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Classification president Jean-Francois Mary said that the title "isn't a film that...can shock a lot of people."

PARIS (AP) — French children as young as 12 can head to see the highly-anticipated erotic drama Fifty Shades of Grey on its release Wednesday, after the country's film board decided against giving it an adult certificate.

France's classification president, Jean-Francois Mary, deemed that the movie, starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, "isn't a film that...can shock a lot of people."

Mary considers the film, that contains scenes of nudity and sadomasochism between an entrepreneur and a virginal student, "a romance, you could even say schmaltzy."

The film — based on the best-selling E.L. James novel — has been rated R in the U.S. for its "graphic nudity" and "unusual behavior."

Britain granted it an 18 certificate and the film is banned on screens in Malaysia where it was deemed "too sadistic."