BACK! (And of course, with a vengeance)
Well, what do you know? It's me again. Who would've thought it was possible? Personally, I blame cws_eat_chs" for this development. A lot's been going on, but it's certainly far too much to explain here. Also, the explaining will wait until I see whether any of my old LJ-only friends are still around and/or still talk to me. Because the rest of you know it already.
I was recently reading the Toronto Star, and I came across an article about the upcoming film Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It went something like this:
Naked humour
Apr 18, 2008 04:30 AM
HOLLYWOOD-Here's the naked truth: Male genitalia is getting unprecedented screen time at the multiplex these days - in mainstream popcorn fare and broad comedies - thanks in large part to comic mogul Judd Apatow (and his band of merry collaborators), who has pledged to shake moviegoers from their squeamishness about male anatomy in movies.
Exhibit A: the Apatow-produced heartbreak comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall where star Jason Segel ispresented in his full-frontal glory. Segel also wrote the film's script, basing the scene on a real-life naked breakup of his own. Still, the actor-writer contemplated inequalities between male and female film nudity before putting himself on display.
"When a woman does nudity in a movie, men immediately switch into a sexual mode," Segel said. "For women, from what I understand, it's not like that. They see a naked, out-of-shape man crying and it's funny - something weird, disturbing and disgusting we can all laugh at."
It seems as though Apatow has made it a sort of personal mission to up the onscreen male nudity quotient.
In letting it all hang out, Segel joins a select boys club of big-name stars who have gone memorably bottomless. Among them: Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves(1983), Bruce Willis in 1994's Color of Night, Daniel Day-Lewis in Stars and Bars (1988), Richard Gere (in 1980 for American Gigolo and again in 1983's Breathless), Harvey Keitel (for 1992's Bad Lieutenant and 1993's The Piano) and Ewan McGregor for Trainspotting (1996), The Pillow Book (1996), Young Adam (2003) and Velvet Goldmine (1998).
"If doing full frontal gets me into that club, I'm happy to do it," Segel said.
Los Angeles Times
Now, my first reaction upon reading this was to assume that they were, as they do so very admirably in their chosen field being "funny." After all, there are several MAJOR issues with Segel's statement in the third paragraph.
Issue 1: When was the last time you saw an out of shape woman doing full nudity in a film? Anyone? Anyone at all? Any takers? Okay, no. Moving on.
Issue 2: If women see a man in a sexy scene naked, they'll probably "switch into a sexual mode" too. Just saying. At least, from my experience. And the experience of, oh, most or all of my female friends. (Spoilers, sometimes, even WOMEN like seeing naked women. Shocking, but true.) But sorry, honey, a lot of women might NOT want to see an out of shape guy sobbing naked on the floor, especially if the character is as lame as this one.
Issue 3: You're making a fucking COMEDY, you idiot. Want to know why people find it funny? Because they're paying their money to see a funny movie (for a given value of "funny", of course). If you had a woman (even, I dare venture, a hot woman) naked, playing a useless slob of a girlfriend getting dumped by her overachieving boyfriend, sobbing on the floor in an 18A comedy, you probably would laugh too. You might even be a bit disgusted if they decided, for added comedy, not to give her waterproof mascara or airbrush out her running nose.
Conclusion: It's stupid to try to prove your point by comparing two virtually unrelated sets of circumstances. Nice try, though.
Secondary Conclusion: Still not seeing this movie. Big surprise. Also, it has Jonah Hill in it. Definitely a deal breaker.
More soon. Now, I should go to bed so I can go to English, for once.
I was recently reading the Toronto Star, and I came across an article about the upcoming film Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It went something like this:
Naked humour
Apr 18, 2008 04:30 AM
HOLLYWOOD-Here's the naked truth: Male genitalia is getting unprecedented screen time at the multiplex these days - in mainstream popcorn fare and broad comedies - thanks in large part to comic mogul Judd Apatow (and his band of merry collaborators), who has pledged to shake moviegoers from their squeamishness about male anatomy in movies.
Exhibit A: the Apatow-produced heartbreak comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall where star Jason Segel ispresented in his full-frontal glory. Segel also wrote the film's script, basing the scene on a real-life naked breakup of his own. Still, the actor-writer contemplated inequalities between male and female film nudity before putting himself on display.
"When a woman does nudity in a movie, men immediately switch into a sexual mode," Segel said. "For women, from what I understand, it's not like that. They see a naked, out-of-shape man crying and it's funny - something weird, disturbing and disgusting we can all laugh at."
It seems as though Apatow has made it a sort of personal mission to up the onscreen male nudity quotient.
In letting it all hang out, Segel joins a select boys club of big-name stars who have gone memorably bottomless. Among them: Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves(1983), Bruce Willis in 1994's Color of Night, Daniel Day-Lewis in Stars and Bars (1988), Richard Gere (in 1980 for American Gigolo and again in 1983's Breathless), Harvey Keitel (for 1992's Bad Lieutenant and 1993's The Piano) and Ewan McGregor for Trainspotting (1996), The Pillow Book (1996), Young Adam (2003) and Velvet Goldmine (1998).
"If doing full frontal gets me into that club, I'm happy to do it," Segel said.
Los Angeles Times
Now, my first reaction upon reading this was to assume that they were, as they do so very admirably in their chosen field being "funny." After all, there are several MAJOR issues with Segel's statement in the third paragraph.
Issue 1: When was the last time you saw an out of shape woman doing full nudity in a film? Anyone? Anyone at all? Any takers? Okay, no. Moving on.
Issue 2: If women see a man in a sexy scene naked, they'll probably "switch into a sexual mode" too. Just saying. At least, from my experience. And the experience of, oh, most or all of my female friends. (Spoilers, sometimes, even WOMEN like seeing naked women. Shocking, but true.) But sorry, honey, a lot of women might NOT want to see an out of shape guy sobbing naked on the floor, especially if the character is as lame as this one.
Issue 3: You're making a fucking COMEDY, you idiot. Want to know why people find it funny? Because they're paying their money to see a funny movie (for a given value of "funny", of course). If you had a woman (even, I dare venture, a hot woman) naked, playing a useless slob of a girlfriend getting dumped by her overachieving boyfriend, sobbing on the floor in an 18A comedy, you probably would laugh too. You might even be a bit disgusted if they decided, for added comedy, not to give her waterproof mascara or airbrush out her running nose.
Conclusion: It's stupid to try to prove your point by comparing two virtually unrelated sets of circumstances. Nice try, though.
Secondary Conclusion: Still not seeing this movie. Big surprise. Also, it has Jonah Hill in it. Definitely a deal breaker.
More soon. Now, I should go to bed so I can go to English, for once.