In our weekly seriesAnatomy of a Nude Scene, we're going to be taking a look at (in)famous sexscenes and nude scenes throughout cinema history and examining their construction, their relationship to the film around it, and their legacy. This week, Phoebe Cates dives into a pool and comes out a nude star in Fast Times at Ridgemont High!
Despite the fact that she was in some of the most iconic films of the 1980s, Phoebe Cates had a rough start in Hollywood. Born in New York City in the summer of 1963, Phoebe had showbusiness coursing through her veins. Her father, Joseph, was a renowned Broadway producer who moved into television by helping to create the classic game show The $64,000 Question, and Phoebe attended some of the best schools in New York, including Juilliard. She began modeling when she was very young, eventually growing weary of the exploitative nature of the industry before turning her attention to acting.
Phoebe's first film role was in the Blue Lagoon knockoff Paradise, co-starring Eight is Enough's Willie Aames. The shoot was apparently very grueling for the actress and she very publicly castigated it in interviews, refusing to do any sort of publicity for the film's release. When the film was slapped with a lawsuit by Columbia Pictures for being a carbon copy of their film The Blue Lagoon, Cates agreed with that assessment in an interview with People Magazine, calling it "a rip-off" and saying...
“The backers of Paradise... knew exactly what they wanted: to make money.” Columbia was aware of the Paradise project even before it started, she says. “I’m surprised that they didn’t try to stop production then.”
Thankfully the film didn't turn her off to acting altogether, as her next film would change her entire perception of the industry for the better. Fast Times at Ridgemont High was a groundbreaking film in many respects, not least of which was its handling of several hot-button issues that affected actual teens, as opposed to the more ludicrous hijinks-based high school comedies of the era. While a great many films centered around teens attempting to lose their virginity, Fast Times gets that right out of the way with lead character Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) losing hers just 19 minutes into the flick.
Cates played junior Linda Barrett, sophomore Stacy's best friend, who is the object of Stacy's brother Brad's obsession. Linda is more sexually experienced than Stacy,preferring older men, an interesting statement that proved prescient when Cates would marry Kevin Kline, 16 years her senior, just seven years later. This puts Brad in a rather precarious situation as he's only a year older than Linda and is also dating one his fellow classmates. Either way, while toiling away as a delivery driver for Captain Hook's Fish and Chips, Brad comes home to find Linda and his sister hanging out by the pool. He gets one look at his crush in that red bikini and heads into the bathroom to play out his wildest fantasy...
Unbeknownst to Cates and the entire crew, Judge Reinhold brought an enormous dildo with him onto the bathroom set where Cates—ahem—interrupts his masturbatory fantasy. The reaction that she gives when walking into the bathroom and catching sight of it was a genuine one, as no one had prepared her for what she'd see. Perhaps she thought, just for a moment, that Reinhold was hung like a rhinoceros.Maybeshe even thought it was a mistake to continue her acting career. You could read literally anything into the look she gives.
Having gone nude in her film debut earlier that year, Cates wasn't opposed to shooting this nude scene, but according to director Amy Heckerling, her biggest reservation about shooting the scene was being spied on by nosy neighbors where they were shooting. She assured the actress that her bare breasts would only be on screen for a few seconds, which wouldn't be enough time for male viewers to, you know, fully enjoy the experience. Little did either of them realize that home video would soon explode—thanks in no small part to this particular film—causing fans the world over to find hitherto unthought of waysto fullyenjoy the scene.
One such fan was our very own Mr. Skin, who has credited this nude scene with being the impetus for his obsession with celebrity nudity. I have made a lot of bold statements over the course of this series, but Ifeel very confident in statingthat neither you nor I would be here, on this website, right now had it not been for Phoebe Cates' bikini pop. For that reason alone, it's easy to see why this is such a revered nude scene and one which has transcended the medium to earn its iconic status.
Catch Up With Some Other Awesome 80s Editions of Anatomy of a Nude Scene
—Kim Basinger Gets All Wet for Mickey Rourke in 9 1/2 Weeks
—Lisa Bonet's Bloody Nude Debut inAngel Heart
—In a Wild MomentGets Lost in Translation asBlame it on Rio
—Linnea Quigley Finds New Use for Lipstick in Night of the Demons
—Barbara Crampton Gets Head from a Severed Head in Re-Animator
—Fantasy, Reality, Passion, and Horror All Collide in The Shining
—Miloš Forman Removes Then Later Re-Inserts Nudity Into Amadeus
—Jesus Gets Down Off the Cross to Get Down in Last Temptation of Christ
—Kelly Lynch Can Never Escape Her Road House Sex Scene Thanks to Bill Murray
—Angie Dickinson Steams Up the Opening of Dressed to Kill
—Isabella Rossellini's Intentionally Unsexy Nude Debut in Blue Velvet
—Body Heat Brings Noir Into the 80s, Sexes Up the Genre
**Click Here to Read All Past Editions of Anatomy of a Nude Scene/Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy**
