My opinion on: Sex in comedic movies.

Originally written August 27, 2007

Sex sells, America, and sadly, we are buying.

It is rare to go to a movie these days that does not contain a sex scene, a sexual joke, a sexual innuendo, or a sexual reference. Sometimes they can be found in children's movies as well, as an attempt to reach out to the "older crowd".
Well in my opinion, that does not reach out to me. That makes me very disappointed. Kid's movies are for kids. What an amazing concept. If you're going to slip in a few references that only the older generation would know, please, just try something a little more sophisticated. For instance, a social or political or cultural reference. Do they really think the only reference we would understand is a sexual one?
To answer my own question, no. It's because apparently, we find sex and the sexual organs hilarious.

Here's my question.

What is so funny?

For example, I just watched the movie "Superbad" last night. I thought it was pretty good, I enjoyed it. In it, there was one scene where one of the main characters was describing a problem he had as a ten-year-old. He would draw penises all the time, in all different poses and shapes. Ok, yes, there is the initial giggle, "haha, he's not gay but he used to draw penises, ten-year-olds don't do that, haha". But seriously, a theater full of roaring laughter? For the next ten minutes as they proceeded to show a montage of him drawing penises?
What is so funny? It's a penis! Who cares! It is a part on the male body. Perhaps it is so funny because we as a culture have built up the penis and the vagina on a hilarity pedestal when all they really are are just parts on the body.
To me, the whole scene was lame. Why? Because in my opinion, too much sexual humor is a cop-out.

Don't get me wrong, I like any other person occasionally appreciate the well-placed sexual joke every now and then. With comedy, as people know, it's all about the timing.
However, it's common sense to realize that a joke used too many times is not funny anymore. Watching a movie where you are watching sexual joke after sexual joke after sexual joke to me seems lame and boring. I think, "these producers and writers and directors really couldn't think up anything else?"
Sexual jokes are an easy laugh, just as jump moments in scary movies are an easy scare. The people who make these films feel as though they don't need to try as hard to make people laugh because they have a whole subject that America just loves and in the right context, finds hilarious: sex.
Come on, people, try harder! These people are given millions of dollars to make a movie, and they turn out these films with repetitive, over-used, not funny sex jokes, because sadly, it sells!

I am certainly not judging anyone who enjoys these movies. Go for it, if that's your thing. Personally, it is not mine, but I do not have the power or the right to judge those who enjoy them.

I am just frustrated with the fact that these movies keep being made and they're essentially all the same. Why? Because they have the same basis of comedy.
In my opinion, quality, laugh-out-loud comedies should have a good mixture of all kinds of jokes, clever ones.
I love a stupid spoof movie every now and then. I find them hilarious. They're taking a reference that most of us know and creating jokes from it that are unique and new.

Anyone can make a joke about a penis, a vagina, or the interaction between the two and possibly and outside source. I wish that Hollywood would just realize that the comedies like this are so low quality. In my opinion, they are quite lame.

And yet, I still attend these movies and by doing so ultimately support those who are creating them. Maybe I'm just hoping that it will be different. But more often than not, I'm sadly disappointed.

If you enjoy rampant sexual humor, have at it, watch away.
For everyone else (I know very few people agree with me on this subject), please, let's realize what we're watching.