The 5 Most Ruined Orgasms in Cinema History
Every generation claims to have suffered more than those that follow. "Oh, in my day, we had to walk three miles to school; we fought in a war; we died of dysentery drinking well water that hadn't been boiled sufficiently." Blah. Blah. Blah.
Private School
In 1983, Hollywood released an incredibly awful movie about a bunch of horny boys thinking about breasts and how they could see some breasts and touch breasts and then do something with their penises. I think that was the plot of Private School. Not sure. I do know Phoebe Cates was in it, and that was a great start. After all, Phoebe was kind enough to teach me how to use my penis at 13 with her Fast Times at Ridgemont High performance.
Thanks, Phoebe!
True or false: in the first few months of puberty, this image was semipermanently freeze-framed on my basement TV. (False. Our TV was in the den.)
The Sexy Bait: Betsy Russell StripteaseAnd wouldn't you know it, Ms. Russell gets kinda naked and sexy in an attempt to seduce Matthew Modine. So what's the problem?The Erection-Destroying Switch: Sweaty Matthew Modine in DragThe problem (masturbatorily speaking) is that this is a scene where Modine pretends to be a woman to get into the girl's dorm, so each shot of Russell and her vanishing underwear is chopped up with a shot of a clammy Modine in drag. (BTW, Clammy Modine would make an awesome college band name. Get on that, kids!) Some of you might be thinking, "Just ignore Modine!" While that may have been easy for Hollywood to do from 1987 onward, it's a lot harder for a kid. Something to remember about 13-year-old boys: they're stupid. Like really incredibly stupid. And somewhere in the back of their minds they believe that if they're engaging in an act of self-love and somehow reach climax at the exact moment the camera switches to a dude -- especially a dude in drag -- they'll turn gay forever.
Basic Instinct
Everyone remembers the seminal scene from Basic Instinct: Sharon Stone at the peak of her hotness flashing her clammy modine at Michael Douglas.
Blue Velvet
Back in junior high school, when most little boys were pining away for Heather Locklear or Elle Macpherson or Madonna, I was focused on a classier pursuit: Isabella Rossellini. And when I say pursuit, I mean using telepathic mind control to get Ms. Rossellini to pick me up at my parents' house and drive me away in her sex limo.
Still waiting, Ms. Rossellini.
I will get you for this, Mr. Lynch.
Serves you right for dropping trou to Tootie!
Psycho
Everyone knows that Psycho's a classic Hitchcock horror film and that Anthony Perkins created arguably the most memorable serial killer in film history. (Sit down, Lecter fans, I said "arguably.") Everyone also knows about that famous shower scene. But how many people stop to consider that when a 13-year-old boy hears there's going to be a movie with a famous shower scene on TV, he's hoping to masturbate? Well they should, because they do. The Sexy Bait: Naked, Wet Janet LeighHere is Janet Leigh:
Put that erection away, son.
Actually, wait a second. We're on to something here.
Didn't really do it for me, but years later these shots were heavily praised on MurderErection.com, assuming that site exists.
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
I'm not trying to sound too cool, but Dream Warriors -- the third installment in Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street series -- held a very special place in my pants. (How'd I do? Did I manage not to sound too cool?)The Sexy Bait: Sex With a Super Hot '80s NurseLike the other Elm Street movies, it's about a murdered pedophile who torments the new generation of Elm Street children in their dreams. There was one character in Dream Warriors to whom I particularly related: the high school debater with a mullet who wanted to have sex a lot.
Shockingly, I was also on the debate team. (Again, not trying to sound too cool.)
For more from Gladstone, check out The Top 5 Worst Lines of Dialogue (From Movies That Don't Actually Suck) and When Is It Too Soon To Make Fun of a Tragedy?.