THB # 787: The Body
There’s nothing new under the sun.
The picture of the voluptuous Ms. Loren side-eyeing Jayne Mansfield’s lower-cut dress is from 1957. And though there were many beautiful and sexually compelling actresses before then, it seems to be that the moment of Marilyn Monroe changed the idea of there being “The Body” in the film world forever.
The inspiration for this column was Sydney Sweeney, The Body of this moment, and the fact that people can’t stop talking about her and her breasts.
Personally, I have no issue with Ms. Sweeney’s bust or her use of it to gather attention. But after unavoidably seeing her and her dress come up on social media, even as her latest movie has arrived and is a lot of fun aside from the sex, I decided, as a change of pace for me, to offer a brief history of The Body in the movie world.
I generally hate lists. And I kind of hate this list in the making, as I feel like it reads as judgement even though it is not intended to be that. I can’t emphasize that enough or be any more sure that my intention and somewhat arbitrary standards will be misunderstood by some. But on I go…
The research part was interesting. First, the revelation that it really does seem like this kind of overtly sexual positioning was simply not part of the world before Monroe… no matter how many men lusted after Hayworth or Novak or Turner or Stanwyck or Bergman or Lake or Bacall or Harlow, etc. It wasn’t that they weren’t using sex or playing on the idea of beauty. It’s just that it was still, mostly, subtext.
The next thing was the realization that the sexual power that made modern actresses ascend as The Body was a short-term thing. This didn’t mean that they stopped being sexy or stopped being valued for their looks, just that if they wanted a longer career or any weight, they needed to evolve into something more than The Body. And they had to do it fighting off Hollywood’s very narrow vision of everyone… but especially beautiful women.
I also found that in trying to come up with a fairly objective list that there was a lot of subjectivity that I simply couldn’t avoid. Not about who is sexy, but in terms of length of tenure, in the nature of their celebrity, the impact, and other issues I can’t quite articulate without going into specific stories.
For instance, even on the “short list” coming up, that isn’t the main list, I left out Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock, 2 beautiful, sexy, hugely successful stars. Why? Because being attractive isn’t quite what I am looking at. I am looking at sex translated by audiences and following that, film execs trying to exploit this aspect of their new stars, first and foremost. And I don’t think that sexuality is the core of the success of these 2 actresses and never really was… though being attractive is. (Is this making sense?)
Phoebe Cates didn’t make the short list because even though men still remember the moment in Fast Times at Ridgemont High that made them have what the Judge Reinhold character was having, it was really her one overtly sexual moment in his career. Always gorgeous, but that was not her thing. On the other hand, Jennifer Jason Leigh is on the short list because for a while, she was being asked to bare all in a bunch of movies and that, combined with monster acting skills, made her the 20ish Liv Ullman on a bunch of industry dance cards for a while.
Let me state again… this is not about my personal taste… for or against. I am not going to express my personal feelings, but some of the women on the short list - and many not on the lists - stay in my mind as some of the most beautiful, sexiest actresses ever. Some on these lists are also amongst our finest actresses ever… though usually that was an evolution that came after people (sometimes including themselves) stopped obsessing on their looks above all.
As I went through 70 years or so of movies and actresses, I was struck by the evolution of many of these women. Some came in as “sexy” and fought for roles that would not be about what they looked like. Others started with the most serious intentions and ended up in a Wonder Girl outfit or some such thing before becoming known for a very grounded and raw sensuality in movies. Some were abused by filmmakers. Others were happy to embrace the role of the onscreen sex goddess. Some just landed in a big way for a moment while others are still working and bringing all their gifts - including their looks - to the industry after decades. There is no typical story that fits them all… or really even, any small group of them.
The only thing connecting them here today is that there was a time that when they were in an ad for a movie, the thing that was being sold, at least in part, was their sexuality, always combined with some other spark, but there for sure.
The Short List
Patricia Arquette, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Barkin, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale,
Jennifer Beals, Monica Bellucci, Jessica Biel, Annette Bening, Karen Black, Jennifer Connelly, Penelope Cruz, Geena Davis, Rosario Dawson, Kirsten Dunst, Cameron Diaz, Shannon Elizabeth, Gina Gershon, Eva Green, Carla Gugino, Darryl Hannah, Anne Heche, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dakota Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Sally Kellerman…
