In the 76 years since Hedy Lamarr came on the scene with her groundbreaking orgasm in the Czech film Ecstasy, we’ve seen countless onscreen simulations of sexual climax, few of which have been more awful and embarrassing than the one depicted in the new romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. The scene (watch it here) features Katherine Heigl’s character having an awkwardly pleasurable dinner meeting thanks to some vibrating panties and an unknowing kid in possession of the undergarment’s remote control.
Obviously it evokes all previous dining-scene-set orgasms (there have been plenty), but the bit in The Ugly Truth probably wouldn’t seem fresh or funny even if there were no precedent for scenes of its kind. Though indirect, the fact that it’s a preteen boy causing the orgasm makes the moment a little disturbing, as well. We’re sure that some moviegoers will find humor in it, but we came away from the scene feeling displeasure proportionate to the ecstatic pleasure experienced by the character.
After the jump, we take a look at ten other orgasms in movies that make us completely uncomfortable.
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It’s certainly no accident that The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman found out about and reported on Bruno initially receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. After all, what raunchy docu-comedy wouldn’t want additional buzz focused on how “objectionable” some scenes were? Universal and Sacha Baron Cohen obviously pushed the envelope in order to both see how much they could get away with and to draw attention to themselves with a desired NC-17. Hasn’t anyone been following Hollywood the past 10 years? Here are a few benefits to both garnering the unacceptable rating and having news of that “unfortunate” rating leaked to all the fanboy bloggers:
- Typical outrage over the MPAA’s dealings guarantee postings (including this one), which continue to give attention to the film.
- Excitement over how hard the ultimate R-rating will likely be continues the interest from moviegoers interested in raunchy content. And if they’re upset that it won’t be as dirty as the original NC-17 version they can always…
- …look forward to the Unrated DVD release, which will most definitely include the censored “objectionable” scenes either in the movie or as supplement material.
Of course, news of the ratings controversy does draw potentially unfair complaints regarding the MPAA’s reputation for typically having problems with homosexual themes. For once, though, the gay community can leave the ratings board alone on this one, since the studio and filmmakers most certainly wanted all of this. Of course, if you do decide to protest, make sure you mention the film title often. That will help the marketing, too.
And now some of the unnecessary complaints from my fellow internerds helping with the film’s buzz:
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See that graphic above? According to Armin Vit at the graphic design community blog Speak Up, it’s empirical evidence that in order for a G-rated film to succeed, its poster needs to be predominantly white and blue.
In what he describes as “an exercise in color trends,” Vit analyzed the predominant color breakdowns of the theatrical posters representing the five highest grossing films from each MPAA rating. The top grossing NC-17 films (none of which grossed more than about $20 million, due to the restricted release that rating brings) were all advertised via posters predominantly made up of black and red tones. Successful films with more lenient ratings are marketed with lighter colors; blue begins to replace black as the dominant background color, and imagery moves from stark and high-conrast to soft and airy.
In terms of color psychology, it all makes sense. While Showgirls (rated NC-17) and Finding Nemo (rated G) are each the highest grossing films in their rating’s rubric, in terms of design elements, their posters could not be more diametrically opposed. I haven’t seen Finding Nemo, but from what I remember of Showgirls, I imagine the films are equally discrepant in terms of content. Unless Nemo is a manipulative, glorified prostitute with a taste for Ver-sayss.
Vit’s full, illustrated analysis can be found here, via BoingBoing.
