Yeah it came out a month before Gremlins. SpaceBalls is rated PG and it’s violent with sexual references and even an F bomb when the ship is about to self destruct.
Discussion
I suppose it's fair to say Gremlins also had an impact given that it can out around the same time and was also produced by Spielberg. But it was Temple of Doom that really drove the issue, and was the catalyst for the additional rating.
Spaceballs came out later, and while it had some strong language, which was the norm for 80s comedies, and what we can call stylized violence, it didn't contain the sort of realistic violence that was the driver of the PG-13 rating. So, while I would understand if they slapped a PG-13 rating on it, PG also fits with the culture at the time it was released.
TopGun, Uncle Buck are PG as well with the same themes.
Top Gun is worse that Spaceballs. There are some heavier sexual themes involving Cruise and McGillis. I would have probably rated that PG-13.
I can’t think of any other PG movie to have a clear out FUCK in it.
Apparently, there are a few.
Space Balls is not even listed, so perhaps more than a few.
Ya, I saw that. I guess they don't consider that one brief use in a non-sexual context to be worthy of inclusion. Still, you'd think for accuracy they'd include it?
Ahhh just looked into Bettlejuice and yeah it’s there. This whole category and topic would make a great segment on Jeopardy