I'm kind of fascinated by a couple of recent movies hitting theatres. Last week it was John Tucker Must Die; next week it's Accepted. John Tucker's ad campaign is brazenly sexual, from the innuendo of its radio commercials to the racy movie poster. And Accepted looks to be one of those classic teen sex comedies, following gleefully in the footsteps of such "classics" as Animal House and Porky's.
But both movies are rated PG-13 which, at the very least, implies minimal nudity and sexual content that falls more into the teasing than titillating range. Which puts them both at odds with those same classic comedies.
So what happened to the resurgence of the R-rated comedy, as last year's Wedding Crashers and 40 Year Old Virgin were supposed to herald? Did the studios not get the memo? Did they miss their chance to inject some arbitrary and frivolous (but deeply appreciated) random nudity and scatalogical humor?
Or is it just that those R-rated comedies are simply playing to the same audiences that they did back in the days of Animal House and Porky's? Let's face it, the plight of a couple of mid-30's guys who suddenly discover the superficiality of their wanton skirt chasing is hardly the kind of story that's going to resonate with the high school (or even early college) age moviegoing set (that golden demographic that Hollywood single-mindedly panders too every summer). And let's not even try and fold 40 year Old Virgin into that demographic territory.
So the R-rated comedy may be back… but likely only if you were old enough to enjoy it when they were still teen sex comedies.
But both movies are rated PG-13 which, at the very least, implies minimal nudity and sexual content that falls more into the teasing than titillating range. Which puts them both at odds with those same classic comedies.
So what happened to the resurgence of the R-rated comedy, as last year's Wedding Crashers and 40 Year Old Virgin were supposed to herald? Did the studios not get the memo? Did they miss their chance to inject some arbitrary and frivolous (but deeply appreciated) random nudity and scatalogical humor?
Or is it just that those R-rated comedies are simply playing to the same audiences that they did back in the days of Animal House and Porky's? Let's face it, the plight of a couple of mid-30's guys who suddenly discover the superficiality of their wanton skirt chasing is hardly the kind of story that's going to resonate with the high school (or even early college) age moviegoing set (that golden demographic that Hollywood single-mindedly panders too every summer). And let's not even try and fold 40 year Old Virgin into that demographic territory.
So the R-rated comedy may be back… but likely only if you were old enough to enjoy it when they were still teen sex comedies.
Comments
I think BORAT will be rated R. Like any teenager has any interest in the oddness of Borat...
I saw LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE which is excellent, MIAMI VICE is pretty good, and THE DESCENT is a great horror movie.
Q
I finally saw A Scanner Darkly last week and really liked that one. Definitely a downbeat story, but really interesting to watch.