Do you think it's unusual for someone over 18 to have never seen an R rated movie?

A little uncommon, seeing as they’re everywhere, and so easily accessible. But for someone with no interest to look into them, I believe it’s almost entirely possible to stay away from them.
Suggestions, eh I don’t know. Depends what genre you guys are interested in, I guess.

Try The Godfather. It’s a great R rated movie.

It depends – does she watch many movies in general?

It may be unusual for a nominal American adult to have never seen an R-rated movie, but I think it would be even more unusual to decide, “Hey, let’s watch an R-rated movie!” just because one hadn’t seen one before. All the rating means is that this movie probably has some combination of graphic sex and / or violence and / or a lot of very coarse language. That may be due to the artistic requirements of the director and producer, or it may just be that the producer determined that the addition of gratuitous sex, violence and coarse language was required to make a marginal movie perform better at the box office.

In the past week I’ve re-watched As Good As It Gets and On Golden Pond, which are certainly not R-rated, but they’re among the best movies I’ve ever seen, and which I always appreciate.

It may be unusual, but based upon the information given, not surprising. How about letting her pick the movie? She may choose something R-rated…or not.

You can’t know the facts till you’ve seen the Fiction.

My favorite R rated film is probably Pulp Fiction

Good choice. :) A dang classic, yeah?

I say let her pick also. Maybe give her a few choices to narrow things down. Are you going for sex or violence to substantiate the R rating? What type of movies does she like? Comedy? Drama? Action? Scifi?

It’s certainly uncommon, though the letter doesn’t make the quality; my favorite movies tend to be in the PG- PG-13 range. And a lot of Rs feel like cheap shots – they make the movie to emphasize the sex/violence/drugs/whathaveyou.
I like The Gladiator, but at a 3-hour runtime, it may be a bit much.

If they live in a city? Yes. If they grew up in a country town, not really.

I think it depends on where she grew up, her circle of friends and the like. In her circle it might be quite usual. I agree with letting her pick. Why not both do some research on IMDB and see what appeals to her. I rarely go for films my husband chooses. I do think Pulp Fiction is a great film though. If you want to be involved in the choice, why not make a list and then let her decide from there.

@rockfan: Update please. What movie did you guys watch and how did she like it?

JCA
The Update Lady