James Bond sleeping with May Day (Grace Jones) in A View To A Kill. (I guess it’s not romance, strictly speaking)
She’s such an angry, violent character, I can’t wrap my mind around the idea of anyone having sex with her, of her body being a source (or even a recipient) of pleasure. Not that she’s not nice to look at, it’s the character that puts me off.
Another Bond one that creeps me out - Solitaire in Live and Let Die. She’s so innocent, and so slavishly follows her tarot cards, that I think his tampering with her cards to make the deck all “Lovers” can be considered rape.
There are a lot of things like that in the various James Bond movies. That one always disturbed me for the reason you mention but another is at the start of Thunderball when the bad guy tries to kill Bond by turning whatever that machine was up to 11. The assistant (who has been resisting his advances up to this point) saves him but he then basically blackmails her into having sex with him by threatening to report her to her boss if she doesn’t. Borderline rape at best.
I think that the difference is this: if we are given some compelling reason within the context of the movie to suspend our disbelief concerning such a romance, then it is okay; if we are expected to believe in it just because the male leads are big-name stars - not okay.
As a note, the play on which My Fair Lady is based - Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw - ends up with Eliza going off after Freddy, and Higgens’ last words are, “Ha! Marry Freddy!” They tacked on a happy ending for the musical.
I think his “Fetch me my slippers” is supposed to be a sign that he knows she’s back for good or something. For the time in which it’s set (i.e. “ago”), the obvious submission of a woman is pretty much a signal of her willingness to become a wife, so it makes sense. I agree that he should have stuck with a puppy.
Except that that’s not the last line, at least in the movie. HIggins says “Where the devil are my slippers”, which is very different. It’s not an order, it’s a question that shows how he’s come to expect and even rely on her being there. It’s not hearts and flowers, but maybe it’s as close to romance as Higgins can get.
The SDMB doesn’t care what your opinion of the movie is actually, as long as you quote it properly.
But it happens in real life, too. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas. Celine Dion and René Angélil. Angelina Jolie and (formerly) Billy Bob Thorton.
There were many, many things wrong with The Phantom Menace, of course, but I was extremely squicked out by teenage Padme meeting Anakin as a little kid. I know there wasn’t any sign of their alleged romance there, but the whole thing was just too icky.
Wonder why that is? I mean, if it’s just a matter of pandering, women are half the moviegoing public. Maybe they’re just not as turned on by the spectacle of a younger man/older woman hookup as men are by the reverse? But why is that?
Or maybe it’s because most producers, directors and studio execs are men.
Oh, come on! If they were raised apart it’s not incest on an emotional level; so if they’re not gonna breed, what does their genetic relationship matter?
That’s the creepiest of all creepy “star” relationships. Major ick. Although they seem happy. Guess they are into that whole Jane Austen “watch her grow up and then marry her” thing.
So what’s a little rape in the line of duty?* This dude is licensed to kill!
We think of Bond as The Hero. We see him do a lot of killing, but it’s usually like a soldier killing armed enemies in the field. We tend to forget that covert ops is no work for a gentleman, and someone like Bond almost certainly will be assigned, now and then, to do routine wetwork. “Bond, Her Majesty’s Secret Service wants you to neutralize Fidel Castro.” “Bond, your next assignment is to inhume Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” “Bond! Kim Jong Il! Extreme sanction!” Many of us accept the necessity of such actions under some circumstances, but at the same time we generally assume anyone capable of carrying them out would have to have some kind of empty space somewhere inside, and would not be someone you really would want to meet, let alone fuck. The “dead-eyed assassin” is another cinematic stock figure. Maybe we should feel creeped out when we see any woman in bed with Bond.
*At least in that case it is in the line of duty – seducing Solitaire gives bond an ally within Dr. Kananga’s organization. Whereas in Thunderball he’s just trying to get laid. There’s plenty of fish in the sea. Is he too vain to let just one woman get away with turning him down?
I don’t know if The Piano] was meant to be romantic. Just because people take it that way doesn’t mean that was Campion’s intention. I couldn’t even watch it in one sitting because I found it so unsettling. It didn’t give me warm fuzzy gratification like a “real” romantic comedy does. It was disturbing and suspenseful and I didn’t feel any comfort until the very, very end.
As others have said, their parents were already divorced and it didn’t seem like they really had a brother/sister relationship at all.
The age difference didn’t bother me too much because I gave it a little room for creative license and older actors playing younger parts. Paul Rudd was a 26ish actor playing a college student of non-specific age, and Alicia Silverstone was 19ish playing a high schooler at least 15 or 16. If one stretches to say she was at least 16 and he was in his first or second year of college making him say 19, I don’t find that creepy.
Okay I’m biased. Austen adaptations are one of my favorite sub-genres!
When you think about it, James Bond is a classic sociopath. He’ll lie, steal, kill or do anything else that’s asked of him with no sign of guilt. His only concern is how to get away with it. This betrays a lack of morality and a lack of respect for authority. Also, while he gets laid all the time, he is unable to form any sort of meaningful emotional relationship. (Notice how he’s always broken up with the girl by the next movie.) On the odd occasion when his actions are questioned, he is always quick to rationalize his behavior. Yeah, James Bond is definitely a pretty creepy guy.
That doesn’t mean I don’t like to watch him blow up stuff and score hotties, however
Like in all those WWII movies where bomber crews kill hundreds or thousands by pressing some buttons, cheer when the target gets hit, and only seem to care about getting back to their own base?
Ah, and Darren/Samantha bothered me. I was totally with Endora- I’d have turned bitch-boy into a cat in heat and set him loose behind an inner city Captain D’s. His refusal to allow Sam to use her powers or even let their daughter use them was on par with keeping her veiled and chained to the kitchen floor in the cruel and insecure department. (I know that technically it’s TV, but it was made into a and based upon a movie.)
