Wow, thanks, Chris. You are so nice. And pretty substantive yourself, I might add. For example, this
I guess I first have to eliminate the same 99.9% of sex scenes that you do. Rarely are they sexy for me, they seem abstractly stuck on because of some formulaic need to have them there. Ironically, most non-romance films still "need" to have a sex scene. To be honest, off the top of my head I can't think of a single sex scene that I actually find erotic. I'm sure I have, I just can't think of any. They always seem more like a plot device than about eroticism.
is SO true. Every movie about robots attacking humans or whatever seems to have an obligatory romantic subplot tacked on. And why bother, I've always wondered, if the couple is so lacking in chemistry and the romance so perfunctory?
But even movies in which romance is ostensibly the whole point usually fall flat for me. I like romantic comedies, they can be cheery and cute, the actors are usually appealing. But erotic? Hardly at all. And romantic dramas -- you'd think I must have found some of those a turn on, but I honestly can't think of any either. The only recent sex scene that I can remember finding the least bit hot was the one in "Cold Mountain." But even that one I can't imagine myself watching over and over on YouTube.
So despite my rational explanation above, I actually am still a little mystified about what makes Brokeback so sexy. Obviously it's very beautiful and well done, and I think everybody involved must have been trying hard for that -- not only for the usual artistic reasons but also because they wanted to make homosexuality look good to a "crossover" audience. Also, what you said, Nic, is very true -- seeing men in movies express strong emotion and vulnerability for a change is powerful.
But is their being gay a factor in my response? To be honest, I just can't tell. Certainly that's what makes the story unusual and interesting. It also could be the other way around, maybe my awareness that Heath and Jake are (apparently) straight in real life makes a difference. But I'll have to admit that lately I find watching men and women together kind of boring. That's scary! I hope it's just a temporary result of my obsession.
In any case, I should note that not all straight women I know find the movie sexy; for some, I think orientation is a barrier. This is a pretty self-selected group here at BetterMost.
I remember getting in one of those debates over on imdb about whether it's a universal love story or a gay love story. The straight people were arguing, of course, that it was universal, otherwise how could they connect with it? And a gay man replied something like, hey, this is the first really big great movie about a gay romance, let us have it. And I said, "No fair! You guys get the best one!" I was being funny, partly, but I was also being completely truthful.
PS Chris, I see that once again you've posted since I wrote this, and the conversation has moved on somewhat. I do hope maybe Brokeback will help open up more possibilities for male expression in movies.