Dude and Say Anything are teen romance dramas from very different times and directions, that both share an important moment in sexuality.
High School sex in movies is far from a new thing, with the 80s building an entire genre around it, from the raunchy ‘gotta get laid’ Porky’s franchise to the more sentimentally-themed John Hughes films, each paving a path through cinema that has had its fair share of influence. Picking two from the lot and comparing them is, of course, sort of reductionary, and yet, it’s also important to take a look at the evolution of where sex in the movies has come from and where it’s going. So, with that in mind, let’s do so and see how two very different stories in two very different decades took to showing young people – to borrow a phrase from even further back – getting it on.
I recently reviewed a new film on Netflix called Dude. You can read it here. It’s a girl-centered movie about a group of high school students growing up a bit while dealing with a devastating loss. Thing is, it’s wickedly raw and unabashedly in your face with the four girls at the heart of it all seemingly under no restrictions to just outright be as raucous and graphic as you can imagine. Oddly, it works, flipping expectations and allowing these young women to be completely natural, even if our old-time movie sensibilities have us feeling a little on edge.
Either way, in the film, which is dominated by the four female leads, there is a male character named Noah played by Alex Wolff, a kind of stringy, nebbish, Jewish boy with a massive crush on Lily (Lucy Hale), one of the girls. He awkwardly tries to get her attention, even playing the ukulele in class to serenade her in a classic movie grand gesture trope. She’s not really all that interested at first, committed to a number of other things, but sensing something honest about him, relents a bit and in a rather ‘oh boy, this is happening’ moment, brings him to her house, strips naked, and invites him to have sex with her, which he promptly does. It’s aggressive, fits perfectly within the rules of the story, and as such, feels very organic, even with the nudity and softcore sexual nature of what we see on screen.
Now, let’s jump in the wayback machine and head to 1989, to a film that, at the time, was earning high praise for tweaking the teen sex romp and turning it into a genuinely moving story of a boy coming of age. The film is Say Anything …, directed by Cameron Crowe and stars John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler, the boy. In this movie, he, a somewhat well liked but directionless fellow, falls for class valedictorian Diane Court (Ione Skye), a beautiful but isolated young woman who has spent her life preparing for her future, barely having any social presence. The unlikely two try a few dates and at one point, end up in the back seat of his car where they finally have sex. There is no nudity, the moment expressed entirely in the aftermath.
Okay, so let’s think about these big steps in each of the character’s lives and why in both films the sexual act is important, even as they are presented in very different ways. First, Dude.
Lily is one of the most popular girls at school, a charming, beautiful and smart student with many friends and interested boys. She and her girl friends have been a solid pack of four since they were kids and yet tiny gaps are beginning to set in as their futures press near. She is also dealing with the loss of someone very close, whom I won’t spoil, but it’s had profound if subtle impact on her life. She is emotionally lonely.
Enter Noah, a kindly but determined young man who seems to recognize much about her and is harmless yet weirdly a little dangerous. He’s not the kind of guy she usually spends time with and yet he keeps making sense. He is a genuinely good guy with honest intentions of treating her right and with respect, and it’s here where the parallels with Cusack’s Dobler begin to emerge. But okay, the sex.
It’s bold. Lily removes her clothes with zero modesty, the nakedness a necessity with the audience able to see just about everything, making it a sort of shocking moment since, even though the movie itself has to this point been heavily salted, the sudden nudity is a jolt. More so as the girl is the one on the power side, instructing Noah what to do and how to do it. She’s a girl in control and while she seems to understand his inexperience, is pleased by his efforts.
Noah, like most any guy in this situation, is simply overwhelmed with the abrupt opportunity, taking to her body and more so her authority over what is happening. The scene is graphic to a degree, with oral sex for both and we understand that while it’s mostly likely a first time for everything for Noah, not so for Lily. This is about feeling something, and for both, it serves much to get them through the story.
In Say Anything …, Lloyd wants nothing more than to be everything he can be for Diane, who is very interested but is under a deadline of sorts since she’s moving to Europe at the end of the summer. That said, they develop a powerfully emotional relationship that seems to fill gaps in both their unsorted lives, with both finding a partnership that had been til then, unknown.
Their sex is subtle. On the evening shores outside of town, we slowly zoom in on Dobler’s car with the sounds of Diane breathing heavily. Inside, we see the two under a blanket as they come to an end, sitting up in the backseat, wrapped together in warmth. His first words to her are, “Are you comfortable?” They are glistening with sweat and both are still trying to catch their breath. Lloyd is clearly still empowered by the impact of the moment, his hands looking for a place to touch her again as she kisses him. “Are you shaking?” she asks. Meanwhile, over the radio is Peter Gabriel‘s In Your Eyes, a song that will drive another important moment not long after this one. It’s a beautiful moment.
Clearly, Dude is not trying to be a film like Say Anything.., though lines can be connected in many ways. Noah in Dude is essentially a minor character, but his role is significant in helping to maintain the role reversal of sorts the film is propping up in relation to its themes. He’s a lot like Dobler, a lovable guy who is still looking for some direction and smitten by a girl most would say is well out of his league. I like how both films take to presenting the first moments of sex with these girls for Noah and Lloyd, perhaps mostly with how differently we see them get there. Dude wants to be racy and controversial, but even as that is going on, there is a remarkable amount of honesty in Lily and Noah’s physicality. Director Olivia Milch doesn’t exploit the moment and is not celebratory of it as most movies where it is about the guy would do. She empowers Lily and as such, giving Noah even greater presence.
Likewise for Diane in Say Anything …, she too is the one with the power when it’s over, and this also leaves us with much more empathy for Lloyd, a good guy who, like Noah with Lily, earned his way to her heart. Two great moments of movie sex with more to take away than what they appear.