Hunger Games: Gritty?

I recently read an article about the Hunger Games movie being gritty or not. The article asks that the movie not be gritty. I disagree. The reason Hunger Games stood from the crowd is because it WAS gritty. It was a sci-fi young adult book that still managed to be gritty and realistic. If you remove the grittiness, you ruin the movie. Here is the article: http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/11/05/the-hunger-games-an-open-letter-to-director-gary-ross/