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, Brat Packer Molly Ringwald does her one and only nude scene in a glorified Lifetime movie titled Malicious.
When and where an actress chooses to make her nude debut is always an interesting thing to study. Obviously many actresses do nudity early enough in their career that it's never really a huge consideration. Once an actress attains notoriety, however, the choice of when and where to go nudecan become an agonizing decision. One of the smart moves for established actresses has always been to pick a project that (in theory) is going to have as few eyes on it as possible. In the pre-internet age, it was a lot easier for actresses to go nude in a film that would get dumped direct-to-video and be just as quickly forgotten.
Such is the case with Molly Ringwald, America's premiere girl-next-door crush of the 1980s. Thanks to her work in several smash hit comedies like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, Molly became a household name before she turned 20. The 1990s were a bit of a strange time for the actress, however, as she went from movie stardom to working mostly in television, like on the short-lived show Townies co-starring Jenna Elfman, Lauren Graham, Ron Livingston, and Bill Burr. In fairness, she did turn down a lot of roles like the ones that went to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and Demi Moore in Ghost, in a bid to break out of her traditional type, but the roles shetook instead didn't click with audiences.
One of those roles she hoped would help break the typecasting cycle was in the Canadian Fatal Attraction-in-college thriller Malicious from 1995. The film was clearly never meant to play theatrically, as it was shot in the 1.33:1 format used for television at the time, and hit home video here in the States in late 1995. Most folks would've probably paid the film no attention as its VHS box cover reeked of "generic thriller with former big name star"...
I would imagine the film was passed over by all but the most ardent fans of Ringwald, desperate to consume everything in which she appeared. Molly stars as Melissa, a bookish medical student who becomes obsessed with her school's stud baseball player Doug (Patrick McGaw, aka Neutron from The Basketball Diaries). Much to Melissa's chagrin, Doug only has eyes for his girlfriend Laura (Sarah Lassez, who also briefly bares her breasts in the film), so her rather lousy attempts to woo him all fall flat on their face—Melissa is a rather cartoonish stereotype that somehow came after Lara Flynn Boyle's character in Wayne's World played this exact type for laughs.
Doug's not all in on monogamy, however, when Laura goes out of town for the weekend and Melissa asks him to stay with herwhile Laura's gone. Being a total lunkhead, he does, and they get it on for the first time in his convertible... at the baseball field. Their second sexcapade happens aboard the wealthy Melissa's sporting yacht,and the filmtranscends being a totally forgettable Canadian thriller from Molly Ringwald's wilderness years. During their fling on the yacht, Molly goes topless for the first and only time on film...
Of course, the fun comes to an end when the weekend is over and Doug wants to go back to Laura, leaving Melissa in the dust. This sudden turn of events tips Melissa over the edge into full-on psycho hose beast mode. While it doesn't make much sense on the surface, one could almost understand why Ringwald would go nude in this particular film at this point in her career. It had no ambitions beyond being a Fatal Attraction knockoff for the teen-set, a sort-of Cruel Intentions to that film's Dangerous Liaisons, weirdly also starring Glenn Close.
At best, Maliciouswould be a direct-to-video cult classic that might catch on for being campy fun—which it sadly is not. Ringwald does the most she can, but this role is a caricature.Her character is not based in any kind of reality, so even though she gets an A for effort, she ultimately comes across as a touch too eager to shatterher own image. Ringwald herself would be married before the end of the decade and she became a mother 8 years after this film was released, so she may have viewed this as the perfect storm to do a nude scene before plunging into full-on adulthood. It captures her immaculate body in that time when she really still looked like she did in the John Hughes movies, making it a dream come true nude scene for all the guys and gals out there who fell hard for her in those flicks.
It is also, quite literally, the only reason why anyone in the world even knows about Malicious25 years after it was made.Sinceshe spent her teen years trying to be a "good role model" for other teenagers, Ringwald was ready to cut loose and maybe this just happened to be the first vehicle to allow her that opportunity. Right time, yes. Right place, yes.Right script, probably not, but it does have that nude scene and Molly was willing to do it, for whatever reason, so let's count our blessings on this one. And if you're wondering whether or not the film itself is worth checking out, I'd recommend you just stick to MrSkin.com and forget that the rest of the movie even exists.
Catch up withsome other editions of Anatomy of a Nude Scene/Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy...
—Rosario Dawson Laid Bare for Danny Boyle'sTrance
—Katie Holmes MakesThe GiftWorth Remembering
—Jennifer Connelly Comes of Age inThe Hot Spot
—Drive AngryCribs a Fantastically Crazy Sex Scene from Shoot 'Em Up
—Schlockmeister Ed Wood Transitions to Booby Movies with Orgy of the Dead
—The Erotic Thriller Boxing Helena Provides More Laughs Than Erotic Thrills
Click Here to Read All Past Editions of Anatomy of a Nude Scene/Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy
*Poster art via IMDb