Yep, you read that right: I saw the comedy—complete with its high level of profanity, innuendo and straight-up nudie shots—with my mother. And the best part? She loved it. (But how can I expect any less from my super-cool mum, who's so tapped into pop culture, she was once quoted alongside our own Michael Slezak in the now-infamous Cougars 4 Cook article?) Some of my co-workers, however, are shocked that I would see such a film with a parent. But I scoff at them, especially considering the fact that I willingly took my mother to see The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle in the theaters.
That being said, there are some films that I probably would avoid seeing accompanied by a parent. For one: Closer (that film, instead, served as the backdrop to the most awkward first date I ever had). Or even the American Pie movies. Or, on a more serious note, A History of Violence (yet I deemed a naked Viggo in Eastern Promises more than acceptable for parent-child viewing).
So my question for you now, PopWatchers: What's the dirtiest film you've seen with a parent? I've polled some of our EW staffers, and here are some of their answers (so you don't feel so alone):
Tim Stack: "Boogie Nights with both my parents and grandparents.
Jeremy Medina: "American Psycho. Nothing says a great afternoon with your mom than watching a naked Christian Bale chase after equally naked girls with a chainsaw."
Aubry D'Arminio: "My dad took me at, like, ten years old to see The Last Emperor. It was my first on-screen threesome."
Christine Spines: "Purple Rain and Dressed to Kill."
Leah Greenblatt: "Being nine with my stepmom and a bunch of her friends and watching the Top Gun sex scene between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis was awkward enough for me….it was that string of spit when they were kissing, and I actually went to hide in the bathroom."
Chris Nashawaty: "When I was a kid, my dad took me to see Altered States, which has a lot of sex in it. I was eight or nine. He made us walk out half way through."
Missy Schwartz: "Idid see Flashdance at the drive-in with my mother, sister, and step-father when I was in third grade. It was a double feature with Footloose. And obviously, the memories of Flashdance are much more, uh, vivid. I don’t think I’d ever seen nudity on the big screen before. Awkward."
Michael Ausiello: "I took my 80-year-old grandmother to There's Something About Mary — and that's after I had already seen it! She made it past the hair gel but walked out during a scene with about 100 'f—s' in it. Still mortified to this day."
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Walk Hard- All those penises!!! Over and over!!! Close up!!! I have never been so mortified in my life.
Borat, with my super conservative dad-and he loved it and proceeded to quote it the rest of the weekend.
I remember somehow watching “40 Days and 40 Nights” with my mom, albeit on DVD. I think we both looked at each other at one point and said we should not be doing this. In the theater, I don’t know… the first rated R movie she took me to was “Losing Isaiah,” with Halle Berry’s boobs right at the beginning.
My dad and I went to see Sirens when I was in HS. We didnt know much about the story except it was a period drama starring Hugh Grant who was still in his Four Weddings heyday. Well….the cast is naked for at least 40% of the movie, the ladies and the fellas. I wanted to crawl up in my seat and die. As we left the show my dad immediately launched into a discussion with me about the hockey playoffs and neither of us ever spoke of this incident again.
My grandmother took me and two of my friends to go see Wild Things. Yes, the one with Denise Richards, Neve Campbell, and Matt Dillon getting it on. So not only did we get to view a lovely three way together, but we also got to see Kevin’s bacon. As our junior high minds and bodies left the theater mortified that we saw this film with her, she turned to us and said, “That was pretty good.”
My mom doesn’t like bad language or violence, so she usually doesn’t want to see them movies I want to see. But it was a bit uncomfortable to sit next to her watching Avenue Q on Broadway.
I’m going to see The Hangover tonight as a “date”. How uncomfortable am I going to be?
I saw Titanic with my mom when I was 12. It was PG-13 so I figured there was nothing to worry about. But the scene where Leo draws Kate; yikes that was awkward. When they showed Kate topless, I just looked down into my popcorn so my mom would think I didn’t see it! And then the sex scene in the car, oh boy.
And then one day we rented American Beauty and watched it at home, the whole family. Another awkward one. The sex scene between Annette Bening and Peter Gallagher, when she has her legs up in the air…oh man, I really wanted to stab my eyes out!
I saw “Monster’s Ball” in the theater with my mom.
So to recap, it was a depressing AND awkward time thanks to the Billy Bob/Halle Berry sex scene so raw that people discussed whether or not they really had sex for a while after the movie came out.
“Pennies from Heaven”, with my straight-laced, religious mother and father. I wanted to crawl under the seat when Steve Martin started fondling his wife’s breasts. I haven’t had the nerve to watch the movie again, it was so uncomfortable.
I also saw a live performance of “A Chorus Line” with them (long time ago!) – we saw it win the Tony and decided to go. I don’t think they would have bought the tickets if they realized it had so much talk about sex (including homosexuality) in it, but I think they enjoyed it.
The Rachel Papers with my mom. I was 16 and it was a free preview screening. No idea what we were expecting, but somehow we both made it through. All I remember is a scene in a bathtub…and I think I’ve blocked the rest out
I watched Superbad with my mom and my dad on two separate occasions…only slightly awkward with my dad. When I watched my mom (who was only halfway watching) I finally just got up and turned it off by the time they got to the party to avoid making things any more awkward.
I’ve also watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High with my dad…not the best movie for father/daughter bonding. He kept getting up and leaving the room before any of the awkwardness-inducing scenes would occur.
Hey! I saw Closer on a first date too!
I saw The Hangover with both of my parents opening night- hysterical! However, when my mom took my best friend and I see to Bram Stoker’s Dracula…I think we were in 7th grade then. It was pretty uncomfortable…
My dad took me and my friend to see Lethal Weapon when we were about 12 and a topless girl leaps off a building then a bare-butt Mel Gibson gets up and dad says loudly “doesn’t anybody in this flick wear clothes?” To snickers in the audience. That was more embarrasing to us than anything! http://www.milehighhorrors.com