The surprise success of Wedding
Crashers and The
40-Year-Old Virgin may revive the sex-comedy
genre, but we are still a long way from its glory days. Today the genre is
dominated by trash teen flicks, such as the American
Pie trilogy, and moronic adult comedies aimed
at a juvenile mentality, such as Deuce Bigalow:
Male Gigolo (1999). The less insulting
examples rely too heavily on gimmicks to be taken seriously. 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)
expects us to believe that Josh Hartnett would take up a vow of celibacy
after his relationship with his girlfriend turns sour. Not only does he
avoid sex for 40 days, but everything else is off-limits. His choice is
never adequately explained, and it seems to exist only to create situations
in which he is tempted to succumb to his desires. Does he learn anything
from his test? Maybe he did, but I certainly didn’t. Filmmakers
haven’t really taken sex seriously since the 1960s and ’70s.
Back when Hollywood had the daring to break new ground, it shattered many
taboos along the way. Perhaps the next step is too scary, so instead they
resort to crass jokes.
I may be harder to please, but I can’t think of
one truly great sex comedy since the almost-forgotten Shampoo (1975), starring Warren
Beatty as a womanizing hairdresser. This period farce about sexual politics
at the dawn of the Nixon era featured Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, and Lee
Grant (who won an Oscar for her portrayal) as the women in his life. Beatty
co-wrote the brilliantly witty script with Robert Towne (Chinatown), and Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) directed.
Hollywood has flirted with sex throughout its history,
but it shied away from any direct contact until the 1960s. The Apartment (1960) may be the
first full-blown sex comedy to be showered with accolades, and it is a
perfect example of why these films often do not hold up. As more barriers
break down, the shock value wears off. Now, the idea of company
cretins’ using an apartment for their trysts is hardly
earth-shattering. Bob & Carol & Ted
& Alice (1969), in contrast, is thought to
be dated, but it really isn’t. Paul Mazursky’s classic is one
of very few films to perceptively examine the effects of changing mores on
the middle class. Maybe some truly daring filmmakers will look to this
golden age for real inspiration and skip the pie jokes.
DVDs scheduled for release Tuesday (Sept. 20): The Longest Yard and Mindhunters.
This article appears in Sep 15-21, 2005.
