Every so often a scene gets paired with a song that, for better or worse, ends up making it that much more memorable, and we’re back with a 90s needle drop so notoriously associated with the film it was also in the trailer!
When word about Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick’s final film, first got out, one of the many rumblings about the plot involved the chance to see then real-life husband and wife team Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman nude and getting down and dirty. Those rumors were strengthened with the release of the trailer, set to Chris Isaak’s dark rock-a-billy tune “Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing,” a low, growling scolding for someone’s sensual and erotic misbehaving.
What’s the bad, bad thing? We don’t find that out until the film, but it’s Nicole thinking about having sex with a sailor she saw when the couple was vacationing in Cape Cod. Not actually doing the deed, just thinking about it. And perhaps regretting that she didn’t. But the song comes even before the admission, right when Nicole is standing nude in front of a mirror after the duo has returned from a party where both of them were being enticed by members of the opposite sex. But that’s the thing about the song and the way it’s being sung - despite what’s happened it’s clear the singer wants the baddie even more.
So Nicole’s nudity inspires Tom to come over and do some of his own bad, bad things, though his bits are covered by the shot placement while Nicole’s bare butt and breasts are front and center from the get-go. Another reason it’s obvious Nic is the naughty one in this scenario, despite the rest of the movie being about Tom’s sex driven encounters fueled by thoughts from his own jealous imagination.
This is the second of Isaak’s songs to gain success after being featured in a film, the first being "Wicked Game", his sultry single played in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. The story is that Kubrick heard Nicole listening to it while she prepped to rehearse the movie’s scenes, which adds to authenticity of the song choice in retrospect. The song may or may not be playing in the actual room but she’s definitely hearing it in her head. And now every time you hear it, you’ll think of the ex-Mrs. Cruise and those uncovered cha chas and cheeks.
Catch Up With Previous Editions of Songs in the Key of Nudity
—Parker Posey Barenaked in 'Beau is Afraid'
—Have We Told You About Sophie Marceau Nude in 'Beyond The Clouds'?
