The sex talk. 💋
Let's have it, shall we?
In This Week’s Edition: shifting norms on sex in media, a phenomenon you might just be learning about and “yet another” movie based on the situation with opioids
Movie Quote of the Week 🎬 💬
“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, HUH? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOOOOORRRR?”
hint: all four of the movie’s teen stars could be considered 90’s queens / kings
So I had been noodling on writing about how people think of media based on their individual experiences relative to where they are in life. Meaning, people have a tendency to view the movies from when they were young differently than when they’re older and blah blah blah. Ya know, standard Latham rant. And then BOOM! glittery topic fodder - news reports on research from UCLA that indicates a substantial portion of people aged 13-24 surveyed are seeking less sex and romantic “stuff” in their media. Now this obviously sounds like a thing, and it might be, but I don’t know if the same kind of research was done in the 2010’s, 00’s and 90’s to see if this has always been the case, or it’s a newer thing.
I will say the anecdotes in the video they released feel very modern. Not sure there were lots of discussions around asexual protagonists in 1997 (though I bet some!). Most people of the aforementioned demographic were too busy watching Kate and Jack cling to a door that was clearly large enough for the both of them (or was it?). 🚢
This is actually funny timing considering Bill Burr’s movie Old Dads just came out which essentially bashes all these subtle and not so subtle shifts in culture, only to have him eventually learn hey, things change, maybe you have to too (I didn’t watch it, that’s what reviews said - which is I why I read them for you, cuz spoilers suck… oops).
Some people might see this and think “OMG, kids these days!” or some other heightened reaction, and I understand. Hasn’t there been an effort so that people can be more comfortable around sex and less scared of what is obviously the most normal of normal things? But this is a headline situation. I’m sure it’s nuanced - you have to consider things like “sex education by porn,” the proliferation of social media platforms’ censorship of sex, “the bullshit,” discussions around gender and plenty (plenty) more - and to really understand these kinds of topics I’m not sure you can take that headline and directly translate it into media. Of course that doesn’t mean people (studios) won’t try and check boxes, but more likely you’ll just start seeing projects like Platonic, a TV show starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrnes that like the title implies, is about two people of the opposite sex, in a platonic (sometimes) friendly relationship. The creators specifically said there’s zero chance of the leads hooking up. That show won’t cause headlines, but it will likely be a step towards more of these kinds of stories appearing (that it comes from two 40+ year olds is interesting, and kinda fun).
It’s understandable why so much art and commerce is about love and sex and the relationships that *ahem* breed them. Because there can be lots of drama associated too, often a desired aspect of media. But in contrast to that, the largest (though its place at the top is getting shaky) type of content out there, superhero stuff, is often devoid of overly romantic things, and especially sex.
I just thought it’d be interesting to address it in a bit more depth than the bit I do below in Newsy Bits. Maybe just prompting, as I always strive for, a hopefully more thoughtful-thought rather than a reaction.
And hey, if you’re desiring discussion on the topic, hit me in the comments and we can get into it a bit more.
Note: Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, which looks fucking fantastic, is having a limited release this weekend. I’m waiting until it’s essentially playing nationwide Nov. 10 to feature, but if you’re in NY or LA this weekend or another major city next, you might be able to check it out.
NEWSY BITS 👾
Gen Z wants less sex in TV and movies, new UCLA study shows1 (Full Article) - From the article, "When there's media with too much sex, me and my friends often feel uncomfortable," said survey respondent Ana, age 16, in a video released by UCLA to accompany the study.” This tracks with the trend of “the youths” having less or delaying sex in their lives. Consider it a rebellion against the establishment, boredom with the usual, or a cultural pendulum swing opposite the openness push around sex, but whatever it is, you imagine these preferences are gonna shift stuff even more than they already have - NPR
Apple TV+ Raises Price to $9.99 Per Month (Full Article) - from $7… SORRY $6.99. Sure, stuff is getting more expensive generally, but also indicates Apple feels solidified enough in their position, in that they have content people actually want to stick around for, otherwise they’d be more worried too big a chunk of their (estimated 25 million) TV+ subscribers would balk - another indication is cancelling shows from big names like Jon Stewart who they kinda needed initially to bring in some cache - Hollywood Reporter
Tyler Perry Strikes Multi-Year First-Look Film Deal With Netflix (Full Article) - it’s a big deal, because Perry is a big deal (have you seen the studio he created in Atlanta? It’s bonkers). Btw, a “first-look” deal essentially means Netflix gets the first chance to make all Perry’s stuff and if they “pass,” he can take to another studio - Deadline
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) 📝
Suitable Flesh - Heather Graham in a gonzo body-swap movie that is for the slightly deranged amongst us. The reviews say the campy yet sex-positive horror vibes all kinda mesh into something super fun. Ya know, if you’re a fuckin’ weirdo who enjoys that kinda stuff (like me). Streaming this Friday
Freelance - “from the director of Taken,” as the marketing material is pushing, although not sure that’s quite the sell they think it is. What looks a modern direct-to-video action-comedy with a higher budget and bigger stars (Allison Brie / John Cena) that’s actually playing in theaters. No reviews yet, but it looks competently made, if quite silly, that I’m sure it’ll occupy enough people’s Saturday nights at some point. Playing in Theaters this Friday
NOTABLE NEW RELEASES 🎟 & 📺
You know that hot new toy / saying / app / singer that all the kids are playing with / using / downloading / listening to? Of course you don’t, cuz you’re not a damn child. And neither am I (though I definitely act like one quite regularly). So it follows that sometimes we won’t be aware of what, to some, are culturally significant events and others, are… Friday.
But personally I spend a lot of (too much?) time on the internet reading about “trends” and the what’s “hip” (←definitely not hip2). And thus I am aware of the phenomenon that is / was the Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) mobile games and will be less surprised when this movie makes a fuck-ton of money. What is the definition of a “fuck-ton” you might ask? I dunno duuuude, it’s just a saying, but basically more money than you, me, your friends and their friends will ever see in our lifetimes. But likely more than twice (maybe even three or four times) as much as Killers of the Flower Moon, the most recent Martin Scorsese / Leonardo DiCaprio movie that just came out that you almost certainly heard about (here, hopefully!).
So what gives? Why are you so out of touch you might ask? I mean, you knew the Taylor Swift concert movie was gonna be a huge deal (and it was).
Well, it’s in part because there’s an amount of media in the world that can essentially be described, if not literally, but practically for our puny lifespans, as infinite. So I wouldn’t sweat it, but let me edumacate you. The first game came out in like 2015 and pretty quickly became a thing. A thing that probably made the parents of the children playing it say, “Jesus Tommy (insert other child name), get off your damn phone! You’ve been staring at it for hours!” A request, for once, Tommy probably abided by because they were afraid they’d shit their pants if they kept at it. Because FNAF is a scaaaaary franchise. 🫣 But like, just scary enough that it didn’t create cultural pushback from parents and instead, a movie (franchise?).
Which is where we are now. And honestly, I’m a little surprised we’re just collectively arriving at this cinematic destination, because FNAF deals with what are essentially murderous animatronics ripped off from a Chuck-E-Cheese. And if you’ve ever been to that culinary mecca, you know those things are inherently creep-fucking-tastic. But nope, it took a series of games where you act as a nighttime security guard (played here by Josh Hutcherson aka Peeta) just trying to make it through the night and eventually discovering why these robots want to rip your / his head off.
It’s a pretty basic concept that unless executed well, could be pretty dumb. And I don’t know if it was because reviews have been delayed (not a good sign). But it doesn’t matter in terms of the box office because the movie has a base - i.e. a generation of kids who grew up on this shit and have been waiting on it like you might’ve for that next Star Wars trilogy. I know, it seems like a reach of a comparison, until you remember, other people’s shit, ain’t always your shit.
Fun fact: the Jim Henson company created the puppets. To prove that they can delight and terrify?
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters & Peacock
1 hr 50 mins | PG-13 | 🍅: TBD
This is yet another piece of media about the opioid crisis / epidemic / failing, etc. I write “yet another” because if you’ve been on your TV over the last few years, you’ve been exposed to or probably watched something about the drugs that have killed an almost unfathomable number of people.
I also wrote “yet another” because that’s exactly what this feels like. A situation where so many stories on the topic have been told that we, the audience, are a bit exhausted at it all.
But you can understand why people want to make this stuff. Because they think the it’s important. And I won’t disagree with them on that. But important doesn’t always translate to good. And turns out, at least per reviews, Pain Hustlers is not good. I’m sure it wants to be. I can’t imagine Emily Blunt and Chris Evans chose roles in a movie that looks like it’s trying to be The Wolf of Wall Street, but for opioids, and hoped it would be bad. Surely not. They probably wanted it to make an impact more like Hulu’s well regarded Dopesick (and less like Netflix’s not as well regarded Painkillers).
And hey, describing a movie with the ol’ it’s like X but for Y is kind of unfair. Because each project is its own entity, with it’s own goals, struggles and audiences.
But ya know, sometimes life just isn’t fair.
Out: Friday
Where: Netflix
2 hrs 2 mins | R | 🍅: 27%
TRAILERS! ⏯ “Second trailer season…”
Maestro - we get a full trailer to understand more about the (non-biopic) biopic on Leonard Burstein which focuses in large part on his relationship with his wife / partner Felicia Montealegre Bernstein.
Saltburn - a second trailer for the next movie from Emerald Fennell, the director of A Promising Young Woman. I don’t know if it’s gonna be “good,” but it sure as hell is gonna have style.
Anyone But You - WE GET IT, SYDNEY SWEENEY IS IN EUPHORIA. Ahem, sorry, had to yell at the studio to let them know they can stop trying so hard to to suck the juice from the HBO hit show by using music that feels like it’s ripped directly from it cuz we know it’s bound to be a rom-com, even though they’re trying to be something more with it (or maybe I’m wrong and there’s more to it!3). Note: only trailer that’s not a second!
Leave the World Behind - second trailer for the Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke Mahershala Ali movie that tells us... not much more except that a bunch of white Teslas are gonna go full Maximum Overdrive.
Rustin - another second trailer, except this one gives us a bit more and shows the focus of this biopic on Civil Rights leader / organizer Bayard Rustin is going to (a combo of The March on Washington and the behind the scenes lives of the people).
Must note as always, I strongly dislike “generational” segmentation as a person is far more than their age, but yeah
so meta bro
there probably isn’t