ROY BLUNT, FILM CRITIC

The congressman from southwest Missouri has already pretended to be a physician, diagnosing Terri Schiavo via videotape and making this statement:

It's clear from watching the tapes of Terri Schiavo that she -- she interacts with people. She's aware of her surroundings. She attempts to communicate.

Alas, Blunt was wrong; an autopsy showed Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state, with massive brain damage, unable to communicate or interact or be aware of her surroundings. And, oh yeah, she was blind.

Now the majority whip of the House of Representatives has switched careers and decided to be an Ebert, albeit one with the legislative clout to scare some Hollywood types.

The Hill reports that Blunt is lending his support to "Facing the Giants," a film about a Christian high school's football team. The movie is scheduled for release in September.

The Motion Picture Association of America gave the movie a PG rating. The filmmakers, hoping for a squeaky-clean G rating, now allege the film was "rated PG for explicit Christian content."

Enter Roy Blunt. According to The Hill:

In a letter sent to MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman last week, Blunt expressed his concern that the ratings system might be seriously flawed if the small-budget feature is deemed too religious by the MPAA’s Classification and Rating Administration.

Blunt placed the questions surrounding "Facing the Giants" in the context of wider concerns among politicians and the public that the MPAA has become more permissive of graphic content in motion pictures.

"This incident raises the disquieting possibility that MPAA considers exposure to Christian themes more dangerous for children than exposure to gratuitous sex and mindless violence," Blunt wrote. "I am sure many of my colleagues share my concern."

In a handwritten note, Blunt added, "Dan — As you know — I like the movies — this issue is a real concern." Blunt’s office and Provident both said the filmmakers did not contact the lawmaker until after he sought answers from the MPAA.

The MPAA has been hit with more than 15,000 e-mails, demanding the movie get a G rating. Impressive spontaneous reaction over a movie that won't be released for at least another couple months.

MPAA officials deny the allegation that "Facing the Giants" got a PG rating because it's blatantly Christian in theme. The Los Angeles Times reports:

Joan Graves, chairwoman of the MPAA's rating board, said Tuesday that the decision had nothing to do with Christianity but was based on football violence as well as the inclusion of mature topics such as depression and infertility.

In a rare interview granted in an attempt to defuse what she calls a controversy born of miscommunication, Graves said that although infertility and depression are involved in the coach's "crisis of faith," the religious story line itself did not raise a red flag.

"If we see somebody on the screen practicing their faith and indicating they have a faith, that's not something we PG," Graves said, adding that the board's goal is simply to alert parents to content in movies that they should research.

"We think our rating is correct," she said of "Facing the Giants." "I think it gives parents an alert that there may be something in the film they'd want to know about."

Graves is trying to reason with social conservatives who've been whipped into a false fury by fact-deprived talk-radio hosts. She's doomed.

As for Roy Blunt: His involvement in this incident raises the disquieting possibility that he considers a movie rating more important than high energy prices, escalating health-care costs or -- speaking of mindless violence -- a war in Iraq. But we're glad to know that he likes the movies.