My anniversary is coming up next week, and my husband and I have a bit of a tradition - we cook ourselves a very nice dinner, watch a movie, and then… uh… go to bed.
However, we’ve had bad luck in the movie department. Our goal is always a romantic or sexy movie that will get us in the mood. Two years ago, we watched The Brave One, because he’d read a review that it was romantic - it was, but not in a get-you-in-the-mood kind of way, more of an intellectual/ philosophical kind of way. Last year, we decided to troll Netflix instant for things that seemed flat-out hot. We watched about 30 minutes of 9 Songs before we realized we hadn’t even been given names for the characters, much less a story; we then switched to Secret Things, a French movie that does have some hot sex scenes, but also some seriously crazy psychological thriller stuff. He walked out about halfway through.
So… I’m looking for movies that I can suggest for this year. Super bonus points if they’re available on Netflix Instant.
What turns different people on …differs. And a great movie in many ways might not be the best for producing the mood you want. In fact, the right mood might be created by a downright awful movie (in all other ways).
That said: Body Heat – sexy thriller with lots of sexual tension and sexy scenes and a clever twist.
Charade – funny sexy thriller with clever twist. Romantic scenes aren’t as sexy, but it’s witty and fun, without Body Heat’s dark edge. For Your Eyes Only – I hesitate to suggest Bond, but this one has romantic locales, is arguably the least misogynistic, and got at least one woman I know in the right mood.
I think “40 Days and 40 Nights” might be good. It’s the story of a young man whose girlfriend breaks up with him, all the girls he knows are throwing themselves at him and he’s catching them all, and then he gives up sex for Lent. His buddies find out about it and start an Internet betting site about when he will break his vow, and the ladies are still going after him like starving houndesses going after a pork chop, and he meets this Very Nice Girl … it’s a fun watch, very romantic, and strangely sex-positive despite its theme.
Love Actually is at the top of my list for romantic movies – don’t know that it will get you super hot, but it’s definitely warm-fuzzy-cuddle-bunny stuff.
Last Tango in Paris
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (very dark, but quite erotic) Body Heat
The Lover
Henry and June
Flesh and the Devil (rumor had it that John Gilbert & Greta Garbo were really doing it and the crew filming them quietly left…) Gilda
Double Indemnity
Women in Love
Body Heat has already been mentioned, so I’ll add the other two movies in what I call the “Swamp Noir” trilogy: *Palmetto *and Wild Things. All mysteries, but also steamy and sexy.
I highly recommend The Thomas Crown Affair. It’s not a chick flick, it’s a caper movie with romance and sex. I personally prefer the 1999 version with Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo.
…crap I was going to suggest some mild French farces. But, you know, French. And maybe more funny than sexy. Also Gad Elmaleh, whom I don’t mind but might be a bit offputting for some people to look at.
I’m here to recommend L’Amant (The Lover) a French movie shot in English, based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras, about a foreign teenage girl in 1929 French Indochina, and her passionate but doomed affair with a wealthy young Chinese man. The scene where she kisses him through the car window…
It has what must be the sexiest love scenes I’ve ever seen on film, and definitely makes you want to run away to some exotic locale and have a wild and tragic romance!
