I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but it seems like Marisa Tomei is all about the rock-out-with-your-frock-, er, off. First she popped up in her altogether as a trophy wife in last year’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, and now she’s playing a stripper in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. And you know what? Good for her. Why do I say that? Because she’s doing what had been derided as a thespianic cliche for years, nudity, because the character required it. In both of these films, Tomei is playing women who have erected barriers around themselves, and for each of them the nude body represents either the fortification of that barrier or its destruction.
More than 15 years after winning an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny, Tomei is doing the best work of her career by being brave enough to use every tool in an actor’s shed. And those of us who had a teensy crush on her when she was Lisa Bonet’s roomie on A Different World…well, we’re thankful.
Anyone with me in praising Tomei for throwing caution to the wind and showing off where the sun don’t shine? Or do you think it’s just been gratutious?
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I think Marisa Tomei is absolutely stunning and, right now, is looking better than ever. Even my girlfriend agrees and is (semi)ok with my ridonkulous crush on her, which is at least twice as big as George Costanza’s.
More importantly, I totally agree with Marc that Tomei is doing the best work of her career right now. It’s especially nice to see considering her Oscar win for “Vinny” was labeled a fluke (or a misread by the presenter that year) for a long time.
Marisa Tomei DEFINITELY has the “goods” in every sense of the word. (Can you tell I’m a fan?)
I also agree that the nudity in her most recent roles (though I haven’t seen “The Wrestler”) is perfectly justified by the character she’s playing and not some “look at me, I look fab at 40″ type thing.
***cough*** Aniston’s GQ cover ***cough***
she’s one of the most under-rated actresses around. Don’t know why she isn’t bigger…..
I saw BTDKYD recently, and holy cow was Marisa smokin’ hot. This isn’t “throwing caution to the wind” (which I would take to mean some apprehension about showing perceived physical flaws in going nude); this was showing the world that she has the goods. Now I need to see The Wrestler – thanks for the tip.
Marisa Tomei is a really wonderful actress and I can’t wait to see The Wrestler. How about In The Bedroom? Between her and Sissy Spacek, the acting is stunning.
Hotter than Jennifer Anniston – especially loved Tomei’s work on Rescue Me.
any marisa tomei is great. all of her? fantastic! can we give her a show or somehow work it so we get to see her more often, please hollywood?
More power to Ms. Tomei for realizing that if the story calls for it, it is completely legitimate to bare all for the part.
Of course, I too join Mr. Bernardin in having admired her form since A Different World.
I think you’re venerating her a teensy bit too much with this nudity business. It doesn’t strike me as deep as all that. But, I do think she is an excellent actress.
A few points:
1) Bernardin, nice work throwing in the word “erect” while discussing Marissa Tomei’s nudity…subtle.
2) I only wish I was shorter and balder so I could be her type (I’ve got the fatness and the quirkiness down, I think).
3) I find it kind of ironic that she used a body double in “Slums of Beverly Hills” rather than just flashing her own boobs.
Marisa Tomei was fantastic in My Cousin Vinny and totally deserved her Oscar. I can’t believe how great she looks — I’ve always like her.
Why don’t we ever see posts like these dealing with full-body male nudity?
Oh yeah, because there usually is none. Because it’s usually actresses required to doff their clothes. I call for equal opportunity nudity! Hugh, Tom, Russell! Off with your clothes. Then we can discuss how the scene ‘justifies’ it.
Rory, shame on you. ugh.
Rory, you’re never going to see an article about full male nudity because it’s not a big deal for men and no one cares about it. For whatever reason, people in this silly country get really upset about sex and nudity but only in terms of women. Men can show every inch of themselves (except for their junk) and no one blinks an eye. Women show every inch of themselves (except for their female equivalent of junk) and it’s apparently the end of the world. Daniel Craig has gone full nude several times (including his niblits once which you NEVER see a woman do…except Sharon Stone) and no one said jack. Just 2 weeks ago, Neil Patrick Harris showed all but junk on How I Met Your Mother…nothing. But Jennifer Aniston appears on a cover and the world goes into a tizzy. It’s a joke. It’s just nudity. It’s a beautiful thing…for either sex. The world would be a better place if nudity and sex were more acceptable. But we’re a backwards people…war is A-OK but AHH, a BOOB!!! RUN!!!
She looks so hot. unbelievable. I never really thought I liked her, but recently I’ve kind of looked into her a little more and I’ve become a fan.
plus…she looks fantastic.
talk about a career resurrection. i’m so happy for her renewed success over the past few years. bravo marisa!
Oh, no doubt. Brooklyn’s own! Love her! No, ADORE her! One of the most underrated and smart actresses of her generation. I like how she picks the right scripts, e.g., she was excellent in that dark drama a few years ago(the title of movie escapes me now), but it Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson appeared it in too… And who can forget the classic Seinfeld episode where George has this Marisa Tomei relapse…
Oh yeah, another poster wrote the movie title, “In the Bedroom”. That’s it. She came a long long way from Different World, where she only appeared in like 5 episodes, and could’ve disappeared, never to be heard/seen from again. But, like the Brooklynite that she is, she has tenacity and proved the world she ain’t goin’ no where!
Kevin, you don’t see many articles about male nudity, not because people don’t care, but rather because there is very little full male nudity in films. When actors do go full-frontal, they do publicize it. But, men tend not to show their “junk” in movies. But many actresses, not just Sharon Stone, do full-frontal nudity. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Eva Mendes, Maria Bello, Gwenyth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Annette Benning and Meg Ryan are among the many actresses who have done full-frontal nudity.
Full-frontal male nudity is rare, but when it does happen, like Jason Segal in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, it gets lots of publicity. Every interview with Jason seemed to mention the nudity, praise him for being brave, and ask him why he decided to do it especially since he wrote the movie.
The reason why some people get upset at nudity in movies is because it is still mainly women who get naked, and many people who think that is sexist. This doesn’t mean they think violence is OK.
What she has done recently is the greatest thing ever!!!!! GAWD she is smoking hot!!
Maggie, the point I’m making is that when a woman goes full-frontal the only thing seen are breasts and some hair and people get up in arms. When a man does it (and it’s more often than you think), he’s showing EVERYTHING.
Yeah, because it’s so necessary for a woman to be naked in order to show her vulnerability…. lame.
This is the second recent Popwatch entry praising a woman for getting naked. Have the staff of “Girls Gone Wild” taken over EW.com? If I wanted to read sexist crap, I’d subscribe to Rolling Stone, and if the MALE writers of EW don’t stop this gratuitous objectification, I’ll have to let my subscription lapse. There are enough sexist jerks trolling the internet–a legit magazine shouldn’t feed them.
Also, Kevin, if you think men do full-frontal as often as women, you’re delusional.
It’s amazing how the people complain about gratuit sex or nudity on movies, but they thing it’ s ok all the grauit killing and violence. They don’t complain about that.
People: SEX AND NAKED BODIES ARE AS NATURAL AS EATING OR WALKING it’s nothing bad so there’ s no need to hide it because it is not offensive or sick. You people are the ones who gives the nudity a sick meaning because you arfe the ones that are sick and repressed. I rather my kids to see a woman or a mn naked on TV than Rambo cutting heads off.
I have no problem whatsoever with pretty, naked women, even when the movie is bad…and Sidney Lumet’s last movie was BAD!
Alex, no one here said that nudity is bad. But some of us have said that they way nudity is used in movies is sexist because it is usually the females who have to get naked. If males stripped as often as females then it would be more “natural” to have nudity in movies. But as long as women strip and men stay covered, there is nothing “natural” about nudity in movies. Men are in charge of most movie studios, and they make movies mainly for males that are 13-25. So they put female nudity in movies to get these guys to watch, and not because the nudity is necessary to the stories. It’s exploiting female nudity for marketing purposes.
And no one here said that they were OK with violence in movies. Violence is also used as a marketing tool for the 13-25 year old males, and is often used together with nudity.
I would much rather see nudity in films than violence. I find torture movies like Saw to be repulsive. But, the current level of sexism in films is also repulsive.
Hi Maggie. I completly agree wuth that. usually there is more nutity from women than men and I think it is really unfair and hard to explain. because male nudity should be as natural as female nudity. I hope some day I’ll see the day the human body wont be seen as something offensive. Anyways. thanks for responding and sorry if I misunderstood what you were saying.
Hi Alex, I’m glad you responded. I’m sorry if my original comments weren’t clear, and I’m glad that I was able to explain my views better. It may have originally seemed like we had opposite views, but now we know that we have similar views. Nice to have a place to discuss things like this.
Maggie, there has been nothing but male frontal nudity everywhere. Look around and research it if you must but you will also find almost no female frontal nudity. Yes, there are some shows that reveal breasts but it has come time for an equal amount of female frontal nudity. It is in mainstream movies, many HBO series, and in many plays. It has become a blatant double standard. I would like to see equality nudity if there are going to show it.
I agree with Kevin- who really cares about the difference between topless and full frontal for women- if you just see pubic hair- then so what?
There is no equivalence unless the woman is in an odd pose (e.g. Basic Instinct) or is shaved.
By that standard- men are “showing it all” much more than women.