Are you a fan of comedy movies? If so, there is a good chance you have either seen or heard of actress Rebel Wilson and the films in which she’s starred, produced or written.
Rebel Wilson is an Australian actress who began her career in the United States starting in 2003 when she moved out to New York after winning the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) International scholarship.
Wilson’s most notable films have included Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids, The Hustle, Isn’t It Romantic, and JoJo Rabbit. She has landed acting rolls in over 30 other productions as well.
What makes Wilson so unique apart from her charming Australian accent is her characters’ personas that she so proudly plays. Many of her characters are energetic, outgoing, sarcastic, and at times even a bit loutish. She is a brilliant actress and has brought many smiles and laughs to her audience members through the years.
One aspect of Wilson’s early life many might find as a shock is how she obtained a Bachelor of Law degree from UNSW Sydney. While nothing in her current career path has been in relation to her degree, that soon changed back in 2019.
In her comedy movie, “The Hustle,” staring herself and co-star Anne Hathaway, Wilson used her law knowledge to fight for a movie rating she strongly believed in.
The plot behind “The Hustle” involves two female con artists who team up to right all the wrongs they have faced from simple minded men. However, the original plot came from the 1988 film titled, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” which stared two male characters.
In the 1988 original film, the movie rating was labeled as PG-13. When Wilson’s movie went out for review, The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) came back and gave it an R rating. This infuriated Wilson and she decided to matter into her own hands.
“As the producer, I’m like ‘no, this is definitely a PG film, so I represented the film in the MPAA arbitration” she was quoted from Perthnow.
Her arguments presented to the court included how sexist it was to give her movie an R rating when the original was only PG-13. She argued that other well-known movies such as “Anchorman,” starring Will Farrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Christina Applegate, presented a larger quantity of references to male anatomy and retained a PG-13 rating. “The Hustle” only included two reference to female anatomy.
Wilson conducted extensive research on sexism and major verifiable difference between male and female comedians in the movie business and this in turn landed her a win with the jury’s decision.
The movie did not receive the rating Wilson was aiming for, but she was able to get the rating dropped from R to PG-13.
From comedic inspiration to will-powered attorney, Rebel Wilson does it all, and proves having a law degree can always come in handy.
