Our Staff Picks column takes you back to a time when video stores reigned supreme and the "Staff Picks" section was the place to find out what films were worthy of one's time. Of course, our version of Staff Picks has a decidedly skintillating angle, as we suss out which films from a particular subgenre are the best to find great nudity. This week let's cover some truly exy Gen X movies.
Hey, man, chill out. It's time to talk about Gen X movies. Or whatever. It doesn't really matter. Hey, just kidding! It does matter. I just wanted to give you all the true Gen X attitude to prepare for these films.
What makes a "Gen X" movie exactly? It's a few things for me. It's the time it was made in, late 80s to mid-90s. It also touches on themes of the generation: critical thinking, nihilism, changing technology, and strong individualism. A "Gen X" movie was made either by or for people of Generation X when they reached their 20s and 30s.
By the way, in case you don't know which generation you are in: Gen Xers were born between 1965-1980. That's a big age range, I know, but that's the way a lot of these generations work.
Since Gen X kids were dubbed "latchkey kids" there is a strong sense of self-reliance and individualism amongst this generation. The introduction of MTV in 1980 also greatly influenced the younger folks in Gen X which is why so many of the quintessentially Gen X films feel so rock-n-roll.
The teens in this generation first saw themselves reflected in John Hughes films in the 80s such as The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. While those movies were for young people of this generation, it was the films that this generation would go on to make that I feel fully capture the Gen X spirit.
The era of the indie film was also brought to us by young, hungry Gen X directors like Kevin Smith, Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze, Richard Linklater, and Quentin Tarantino. Movies that do not contain nudity like Clerks, Slackers, and Before Sunrise are the best examples of these.
But for nudity and sexiness? Check THESE out:
Reality Bites
Perhaps Reality Bites is THE stereotypical Gen X movie. It has it all: pseudo-philosophy from slackers. 20-somethings being poor, lazy, high, and ambitious. Winona Ryder is a leading lady. Making fun of MTV and corporations. Cool music. Cool fashion. Hot babes. What's not to love?
This 1994 film was directed by Ben Stiller who also elects to play the yuppie in the movie. There's no nudity, but I can never forget the way in which Winona simply never wears a bra in the movie - even when she wears this white "doily" dress to go on a date with Ben.
Society
Society is an amazing horror movie made in 1989 that really touches on the whole anti-society and individualism thing. A young man is about to turn 18 and he keeps noticing the ways in which his friends and family keep telling him that he will join "society".
It turns out they are actually body-switching aliens who look forward to using his body once he turns 18. That society definitely sounds terrifying, but I don't know. Can it really be that bad with ladies like Devin DeVasquez?
Even Patrice Jenning's trippy shower scene has me considering joining this society...even if it means I only catch a glimpse of Patrice's body before she switches into something else or totally destroys me or something. It still seems worthwhile for a peek at that pair.
Heathers
Another late 80s film that feels edgier than the 80s teen flicks before it and for that reason, it feels more authentically Gen X to me. Winona Ryder plays a sullen teen who meets an angsty Christian Slater as the two of them decide that they have had it with the popular girls in their high school known as "The Heathers".
Together, they decide to pick the girls off and make them suffer for their unchecked power, but this has consequences that Wynona did not foresee. While there is no nudity in the movie, the young Wynona Ryder proves herself as Gen X's number one crush in a couple of sexy scenes - including a shower that makes her clothes cling to her figure.
Mallrats
This Kevin Smith film is a lot raunchier than his other movies in that we actually see breasts from starlet Priscilla Barnes. It's also a VERY 90s-feeling comedy. It literally takes place in a mall and follows a pair of slacker friends waxing poetic about things like escalators, Superman, and food court physics.
Does that sound perfectly Gen X or what?
There is a long, memorable debate about what counts as food in a food court vs. outside food court eateries that has stuck with me for decades. Joey Lauren Adams also shows her boobs briefly during a dressing room scene gone awry while Priscilla fakes having three nipples.
Trainspotting
This UK film almost made drugs look cool. The story follows Scottish junkies and lowlifes finally taking stock of their lives, but not without showing us just how adventurous and hot the women in the story are. Sure, Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle are scummy. But classic beauties Kelly MacDonald and Pauline Lynch are yummy.
Kelly in particular shows off her body A LOT. Whether she is bottomless and baring red bush or riding a guy topless, Kelly will have you spotting titties in Trainspotting.
S.F.W.
S.F.W. stands for So Fucking What? which may as well be the mantra of early 90s cool. Stephen Dorff plays a slacker who becomes a hostage in a convenience store robbery that winds up lasting over a month. It is covered daily by the media which makes Dorff a star.
When the beer runs out, the hostage goes free and Dorff finds that he is now a celebrity.
This movie explores what someone with barely any ambition or purpose in their own life does with fifteen minutes of fame. The cult of celebrity would become an even bigger issue and fascination with the next generation (see the early 2000s), so this is an interesting way to look at it in the pre-internet days.
How exactly does he handle his newfound fame for being a news story? With women, it seems. Melissa Lechner and Joey Lauren Adams both show their breasts in the movie.
Hackers
Speaking of pre-internet, let's take a look at the 1995 sci-fi classic Hackers. I love Hackers and movies like this that try to speculate about the future and technology and wind up feeling SUPER dated because of it. Watching this film now will make you go "awwww, how cute!" when you see the way they treat computers.
The plot follows hackers who get blamed for a virus that caused a major catastrophe. Angelina Jolie is in the movie as a young, short-haired hottie who seems to innately know everything. We know that she also bares her boobs and she wears a sexy see-thru shirt that really shows off her bodacious breasts.
Singles
It's 1992. Grunge is on the radio. Seattle is suddenly cool. The film Singles takes us into the heart of Seattle's hip early 90s experience with Bridget Fonda and Kyra Sedgwick star as cool grunge chicks.
There's no nudity, but Sheila Kelley does have a sexy overhead shower scene.
The movie is a cool 90s time capsule giving us fashion and music from the era that will transport you back in time. Alice in Chains and Soundgarden make cameos in the movie! Cameron Crowe directed this movie which seems weird in hindsight, but it's clear he wanted to tap into what was happening over there. I think he mostly accomplished that which is why I would recommend it!
1989's Do the Right Thing put Spike Lee on the map and it gives us a very different look at the Gen X experience. Namely, this movie does what the other movies listed did not do: show us what things were like for Black Gen Xers at this time.
This movie takes place during the summer where a heatwave in New York City makes the conflict between an Italian pizzeria and the rest of the neighborhood boil over. Tensions and temperatures are high in this sizzling and poignant film that made the industry really pay attention to Spike Lee.
One of the most memorable things about this absolute classic is the opening title sequence which features Rosie Perez dancing. That and her nude scene later on in the movie where she and her lover very sensually cool each other off with ice cubes.
