From a pair of psychopathic dolls to a bunch of friends erotically obsessed with car crashes,
there've been a lot of movies which push the boundaries of the love scene.
According to University College London researchers, there's an old folktale about
women with vagina dentata, or a second set of very sharp teeth down below. It's not a
real medical condition, and probably stems from men's fear and lack of understanding of female
sexuality going back hundreds of years. The 2007 low-budget horror comedy Teeth
took this old legend — and the sexual politics that inspired it — as the basis for its story,
creating an allegory about adolescence and the physical changes that it brings.
Jess Weixler's Dawn hasn't explored her sexuality much, and is very involved in
her high school's chastity club. But that changes when she meets Hale Appleman's Tobey. Things are
going alright at first, until he suddenly turns impatient and violent — turning a
love scene into a sickening assault scene. But Dawn puts a swift end to it, thanks to
her previously undiscovered physical quirk, effectively severing Tobey from his manhood.
The Room — starring, written by, and directed by Tommy Wiseau — is a cult classic,
and widely considered among the worst movies ever made. Amid the other atrocities in
this movie is a pair of love scenes between Wiseau's Johnny and his "future wife" Lisa,
played by Juliette Danielle. Well, it's really just one love scene repeated twice — feeling
like it's out of one of Cinemax's low-budget erotica from the '80s and '90s.
"Two's great, but three's a crowd."
"I get it. You guys wanna be alone."
The scene is shot through gauzy white curtains — and then a rainy window. The odd foreplay is lit
by candles and abrasive neon light, with Johnny positively obsessed with a single red rose,
plucking off each pedal and throwing them at Lisa. But when we finally reach the big moment,
the couple are misaligned — seemingly unable to understand what's supposed to
happen. And then it just keeps going, and going, and going.
David Cronenberg's films are always delightfully provocative, transgressive, and bewildering. He's
famous for his body horror films and psychological thrillers. In 1996 he wrote and directed Crash,
an NC-17-rated adaptation of the dark and edgy novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard.
This movie is all about obscure, fetishistic sex. James Spader plays James Ballard,
who — after getting into a near-fatal car accident — finds a group of people who derive pleasure from
vehicular mishaps. They channel the fear, anxiety, and adrenaline rush into erotic energy — which
means that several of Crash's intimate scenes are also violent car wrecks. And as you know, car
crashes cause injuries, and for Rosanna Arquette's Gabrielle, it's a big wound on her leg. Spader's
character then treats it as he would any other naturally occurring bodily orifice on a partner.
Seth Rogen's done a lot of cringey sex scenes, but Judd Apatow's 2007 coming-of-age comedy may
just take the cake. Love scenes can trigger a lot of unexpected or unintended reactions — laughter,
disgust, confusion, and even annoyance. But Apatow goes for the whole pot in Knocked Up.
In the film, Rogen's Ben is an immature and irresponsible guy forced to quickly become
an adult when Katherine Heigl's Alison learns she's pregnant from their one-night stand. Alison
decides to carry the child to term and requests that Ben come back into her life as a partner.
They bicker throughout the movie, particularly over whiny and lazy Ben's inability and
unwillingness to change. But they still decide to make a go of a more permanent romantic situation.
You'd think the initial clumsy, drunk lovemaking scene between the two of them, setting the drama
in motion, is the most uncomfortable one in the film. But no. After they're back together,
Ben and Alison find themselves in the middle of another baby-making act, except Alison
is already very far into her pregnancy. Rather than be in the moment in any way,
Ben obsesses over a myth that's dispelled on day one of junior high health class.
"All I see is our baby getting poked in the face with my p---s."
"Trust me, you're not even close."