Idaho Law Censors Movies Shown by Theaters That Serve Alcohol

No naughtiness!

Thanks to a quirk in Idaho Code, the state holds the power and authority to shutter some movie theaters that serve alcohol for showing the wrong type of flick.

The oddity rarely pervades public discussion, but The Flicks theater in Boise, a purveyor of indie (independent) and foreign films, says it won't show "Blue is the Warmest Color" out of fear that the business could lose its liquor license.

Really?

The movie is an award winner, having notched the top prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Yet, the content is fairly controversial; the flick boasts an NC-17 rating (no one under 17 admitted) and a rather steamy 10-minute sex scene.

That's where the trouble comes in.

Because The Flicks serves alcohol to moviegoers, it must live by certain rules. One of those rules, set forth in Idaho Code, limits what can be portrayed on the silver screen. Theaters with liquor licenses cannot show films depicting sexual acts, intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation or flagellation, among other things. The state also forbids theaters from screening films in which genitals or breasts are shown and/or caressed.

(Hat tip to Ross)