# Surprise nude/sex scenes in the movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952 "2007-05-06T03:44:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/1 "2007-05-06T03:44:13Z")
Most nude/sex scenes in movies are not surprises. The lead couple embrace. They kiss, the music swells. You know what’s coming next, the droppage of clothes, etc. etc. Or the cops or mobsters pull up in the parking lot of the Pussycat Lounge. It’s not surprising that naked women will be dancing onstage in the next scene. A surprising nude/sex scene is one which gives you no warning it’s coming up, either in the nature of the movie or the way the plot progresses. One example that springs to mind is Emma Thompson’s scene in, I believe, Howard’s End. At some point one of the characters opens a door to a bedroom, without any buildup at all, and there’s Emma Thompson, stark naked, riding some guy cowgirl style, shagging the living hell out of him. It was quite startling in what seemed to be a droll English tragicomedy. Another example that springs immediately to my mind is “The Borrower,” a cheesy 90s horror flick about an alien sent to Earth as punishment for some crime or other. The plot gimmick is, he needs to wear the bodies of humans to survive on Earth, but for some reason, the heads of his victims tend to explode periodically. So he has to “borrow” a new head from someone, by ripping it off their shoulders, and placing it on his own shoulders. Messy process. Anyway, at one point he grabs a nurse and drags her into a closet in a hospital. Next scene, you see the back of the guy walking out of the closet . Then a shot inside the closet. You expect to see another headless body. Instead, the nurse is lying on a cot face down, completely intact, but stark naked and bound and gagged. The Borrower only wanted to borrow her clothes. The shot lasts for about 2 seconds, and there’s no other nudity in the movie. I’m not even sure it was put there to get an R rating, because since she was face down, there were no naughty bits showing. In both films, the sex/nudity was a total surprise, and intended to be. Any others like that out there? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/2 "2007-05-06T04:22:38Z")
:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/3 "2007-05-06T04:23:37Z")
I was permanently scarred by seeing a surprise, long shot of a full-frontal Harvey Keitel in _The Piano_. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/4 "2007-05-06T04:37:50Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] I was permanently scarred by seeing a surprise, long shot of a full-frontal Harvey Keitel in _The Piano_. :eek: [/QUOTE] Speaking of same, I wasn’t permanently scarred, but a bit disappointed with Holly Hunter. Same for Madeleine Stowe in Short Cuts. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/5 "2007-05-06T04:51:48Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Is there a reason to be threadshitting in here? As for surprises, I was a little surprised to see Donald Sutherland’s butt cheeks in Animal House. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/6 "2007-05-06T04:52:32Z")
There was surprise penis in Heavenly Creatures. At least, _I_ was surprised. Maybe everybody else was expecting Kevin Bacon to pop out from behind a door totally naked. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/7 "2007-05-06T04:56:59Z")
I was shocked to see Frank Langella’s penis flopping around in Lolita (the Jeremy Irons version). Also surprised to see JoBeth Williams’ bare breasts in Teachers. It wasn’t a sex scene. If I remember right, she was flipping out and running down a hall in a school building. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/8 "2007-05-06T04:59:23Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] There are three basic options for dealing with a thread you don’t like: 1.) Ignore it; 2.) Report it if you feel it violates a board rule; 3.) Take your complaints to the Pit. You blew right past the first two options (not that the second one would have gotten you very far, what with there not being anything wrong with the topic), so I guess you still have the third option with which to play. You’ll notice, however, that “threadshitting” _isn’t_ an option, so don’t do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/9 "2007-05-06T05:34:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Also surprised to see JoBeth Williams’ bare breasts in Teachers. It wasn’t a sex scene. If I remember right, she was flipping out and running down a hall in a school building. No way was that a surprise. Nick Nolte’s and JoBeth Williams’ characters had a conversation earlier in which there was a line about running naked in the halls. From that point on, you knew it was going to happen before the end of the movie and the only question was which of them would do it. (Fortunately the producers made the right choice and picked Williams instead of Nolte.) > [@](#): > > There was surprise penis in Heavenly Creatures. At least, I was surprised. Maybe everybody else was expecting Kevin Bacon to pop out from behind a door totally naked. I think the shock of seeing Kevin’s Bacon may have confused you. I believe you’re actually talking about _Wild Things_ not _Heavenly Creatures_. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/10 "2007-05-06T05:40:33Z")
Does the Schwarzenpecker in The Terminator count? Blink and you miss it, but it’s there in all its Austrian glory near the begining. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/11 "2007-05-06T05:41:43Z")
My contribution would be Silkwood. Karen Silkwood is arguing with a co-worker and flashs her boob at him. It was a surprise because: 1 - It wasn’t a sex scene. 2 - They were in a nuclear power plant. 3 - It was a serious drama. 4 - It was Meryl Streep. ---
**Author:** ![cheeky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cheeky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheeky)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/12 "2007-05-06T05:43:54Z")
Um, I think the Emma Thompson movie in the OP is “Peter’s Friends,” not “Howard’s End.” Though an adaption of E.M. Forster with _anyone_ fucking cowgirl style would be, well, different. And “Peter’s Friends” was about a group of contemporaries meeting up for a reunion. There’s lots of drinking, talking, fucking and even AIDS in the film, so it’s hardly a “droll tragicomedy.” Unless the OP is thinking of the “The Tall Guy.” Emma fucks a lot in that one, too. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/13 "2007-05-06T06:45:14Z")
When Charlize Theron stood up to show Keanu Reaves her scratched body in “The Devils Advocate” took me by surprise ---
**Author:** ![cheeky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cheeky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheeky)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/14 "2007-05-06T07:00:15Z")
Nudity in films rarely surprises me, though I did do a doubletake at the erect wicker-bill in “Angels and Insects.” Talk about your droll tragic-comedies. Or was that just me and A.S. Byatt? ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/15 "2007-05-06T07:05:01Z")
Maria Bello in _A History of Violence_. She walks out of the bathroom in an open robe, with all her naughty bits showing… totally unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/16 "2007-05-06T07:05:36Z")
Kathy Bates in **About Schmidt**. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/17 "2007-05-06T07:07:30Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] There are three basic options for dealing with a thread you don’t like: 1.) Ignore it; 2.) Report it if you feel it violates a board rule; 3.) Take your complaints to the Pit. You blew right past the first two options (not that the second one would have gotten you very far, what with there not being anything wrong with the topic), so I guess you still have the third option with which to play. You’ll notice, however, that “threadshitting” _isn’t_ an option, so don’t do it again. [/QUOTE] Wow. A mod warning based on a single emoticon! That has to be a record. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/18 "2007-05-06T07:11:33Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] Wow. A mod warning based on a single emoticon! That has to be a record. [/QUOTE] Perhaps, though, if one really cared to beat it, one could develop a habit of making empty posts drivebys, presumably eventually getting warned for it. Though, since the eventual warning would really be based on multiple empty posts and not just the one, perhaps this doesn’t count as really breaking the record. ---
**Author:** ![cheeky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cheeky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheeky)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/19 "2007-05-06T07:14:26Z")
[QUOTE=gouda] Maria Bello in _A History of Violence_. She walks out of the bathroom in an open robe, with all her naughty bits showing.. totally unexpected. [/QUOTE] See, this didn’t surprise me in the whole context of the scene. Y’know, married folks. ---
**Author:** ![cheeky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cheeky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheeky)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952/20 "2007-05-06T07:16:25Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] Wow. A mod warning based on a single emoticon! That has to be a record. [/QUOTE] Can someone point me to the rule on this? I thought smilies, emoticons, whatever, on this site were cool. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprise-nude-sex-scenes-in-the-movies/402952.md?page=2)