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Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

Without going into the pornographic, let's get down and dirty and discuss all those films that explore what goes on behind closed doors.

I will admit that I do like American Pie and it's gross out portrayal of a group of high schoolers making a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate high school. Equally, I'm willing to also admit that I found myself liking The Sweetest Thing and it's portrayal of sexually liberated (without any negative connotations) woman being stupid and having fun with their sexual experiences.

Venturing to the more dismal views of sex, The Rules of Attraction will make any incoming college freshman fear leaving the comfort of their parents homes and begin seeing nothing but rapists, STD's and psychopaths around every turn. Y Tu Mamá También is incredible with it's twisted threesome road trip sexual free-for-all.

Catherine Breillat has made countless interesting films about women and sex: Fat Girl being a pubescent girl becoming curious about her body and sex; Anatomy of Hell about an older woman tired of the typical and her journey into some pretty insane depths of sexual experience.

Lastly, my favorite two films with S-E-X as the primary theme are Shortbus and A Dirty Shame. Warning for those that might be tempted to see Shortbus: it is extremely graphic. EXTREMELY. From John Cameron Mitchell, Shortbus is one of the few movies about sex that keeps nothing hidden (literally) and attempts to deconstruct various aspects of the act and what compels us in our various ways. A Dirty Shame is just stupid fun from that master of stupid fun John Waters and centers around a group of sexual liberated fetishists trying to uncover a new unheard of sex act.

So without further ado and double entendres, let's talk about sex!

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

Woowww. OK before I add any to the list, let's just take a second to understand the magnitude of sex in cinema. For instance, if you search for sex as a tag in spout, you will find 2253 films tagged with that word by 109 people. IMDB has been around a bit longer and has more users and a larger database. If you do a keyword search on that site for sex, you will find a list of 56197 titles.

That's a bunch. We must really like this stuff. Hell, I'm thinking about it right now. So, with that, I'll just mention a few for right now.

Merc mentioned John Waters movies. I'm not a big fan of his stuff, but as far as sex comedies go, Everything You Ever Wanted To Know.............. is a classic.

Gregg Araki's Doom Generation instantly comes to mind when sex in cinema is mentioned for me. I'm not sure what that says about me but Rose McGowan was superhaaaawwwt in that one.

And possible my newest favorite film fits this genre quite well. Almodovar's Talk To Her was centralized around an inappropriate relationship. It really amazed me that he was able to make a film about this subject matter that didn't make squirm in my seat while watching it.

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

If you're looking for more sadomasochistic sex, I really dug Videodrome and it's whip cracking protagonist Max Renn, who pierces his woman's ear to get her and him off and is completely turned on by whipping a television set with the image of said woman on it.  There's some pretty sick sexual stuff in there.

Blue Velvet also explores these realms, but it's not so central to the story and more of an asset to it.  My favorite line that demonstrates this is probably "Baby wants to (bleep)!  Baby wants to (bleep) Blue Velvet!"

I mean, American Pie is pretty much a given, as is every other turn of the millenium high-school to college sex comedy spinoff that came after it.  40 Year Old Virgin could pretty much be classified as mostly about sex, considering the general plot line.

There's so many others that are slipping my mind right now--I thorougly enjoyed Cronenberg's scenes in A History of Violence, how the one is so innocent and childish and the later one is so abusive and dominating.  Cronenberg seems like the kinda' guy that really does highlight all of the f*ck scenes. (Trademark Slap Shot)

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

The timing on this discussion could not be more perfect! I just finished watching "2 Days in Paris," which I loved. A great, funny movie about sex, relationships and how much you really know about the person that you're with. It's not just about sex, but about everything that goes into it and everything that it represents. The paranoia, the fear of rejection, the repercussions that old partners and experiences have on new ones...It's all there. Watch it, if you haven't.

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

Here's a quick five:

Artsy & Safe: Tom Jones

Albert Finney spends the movie hopping into and out of bed, if only people would stop interrupting...

Artsy & Strange: The Dreamers

It's Paris. It's the sixties. It's the typical boy has sex with girl and then the girl's brother and then ... wait... Are all three....

Artsy and Raunchy: Lust, Caution

Sure she is sleeping with the enemy, but all's fair in love and class warfare.

Raunchy: Last Tango in Paris

Hey, my wife just died and I thought I'd find a kid for some S&M and B&D... What is it about Bertolucci and Paris?

Just plain wrong: Pink Flamingos

When there's a sex scene in the first half hour that features a man, a woman and a live chicken, well, you know right there it's all effed up. By the time you get to Divine eating a dog turd, you are either numb or you've already clawed your eyes out.

When I first thought of this list I didn't realize the Bertolucci would hit twice. I never thought of him as the dirty old man before, now that may be the only way I think of him.

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

Smooth_J:

If you're looking for more sadomasochistic sex, I really dug Videodrome and it's whip cracking protagonist Max Renn, who pierces his woman's ear to get her and him off and is completely turned on by whipping a television set with the image of said woman on it.  There's some pretty sick sexual stuff in there.

Blue Velvet also explores these realms, but it's not so central to the story and more of an asset to it.  My favorite line that demonstrates this is probably "Baby wants to (bleep)!  Baby wants to (bleep) Blue Velvet!"

There's so many others that are slipping my mind right now--I thorougly enjoyed Cronenberg's scenes in A History of Violence, how the one is so innocent and childish and the later one is so abusive and dominating.  Cronenberg seems like the kinda' guy that really does highlight all of the f*ck scenes.

With Lynch it's Mulholland Dr. all the way. With most of the film being a masturbatorial fantasy (depending on your individual analysis) it should definitely be given an honorable mention.

I like Blue Velvet, but Crash (1996) is by far my favorite Cronenberg and I can't believe I left it out of my original post. Considering the DVD I own comes complete with both the R-rated version and an NC-17 version, it's naturally chock full of sex, sex and more sex. A couple of car crashes. Some sex, and some sex after a car crash. Yay for bizarre fetishes.

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

What does sex signify in cinema? A lot. Just for starters...

It shows one's capacity for human connectedness in The Deer Hunter (I'm thinking of when Deniro is eventually able to have sex with Meryl Streep).

The sex act is a prize to be seized in Superbad and a crillion other films. Does this count as an obsession?

Sometimes it's a blatant obsession, such as in Quills.

Or one of the trappings of success, like in Jerry Maguire.

It shows one's awakening from apathy and absurd constrainst in Zardoz.

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I also forgot to mention the last screener I reviewed, Summer Palace which uses the main characters personal sexual revolution to symbolise the social revolution going on at the time.

Also, Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute should be mentioned. I really liked this one and I'm sure you could mention quite a few more Suzuki films.

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

leeroy711:

Also, Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute should be mentioned. I really liked this one and I'm sure you could mention quite a few more Suzuki films.

I was avoiding Japanese movies about sex, because they lead me to the whole Legend of the Overfiend anime series and I never need to see a woman raped by a million tenticles again!

But if we hop the sea and go to China, there is Ju Dou where Gong Li is the third wife of a strange silk merchant whose father explained that sex was like riding a horse, so he puts a saddle on her and rides her around the room; screaming at her for not getting preggers and giving him a son. Fortunately, she find happiness in the arms and bed of the merchant's nephew.

Gong Li also starred in the sewxually charged Raise the Red Lantern, but I'd go with the scenes in Ju Dou of the lovers touching each other though the red silk over Lantern.

Re:Weekly Theme for August 4: Let's Talk About Sex!

unclefestering:

leeroy711:

Also, Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute should be mentioned. I really liked this one and I'm sure you could mention quite a few more Suzuki films.

I was avoiding Japanese movies about sex, because they lead me to the whole Legend of the Overfiend anime series and I never need to see a woman raped by a million tenticles again!

 

Sounds like Ninja Scroll. I'm not much of an anime fan.

While we're on the subject, has anyone seen Lust, Caution.? I'm intrigued but I'm not sure.