Body Shots (film)

Last updated

Body Shots
Body Shots FilmPoster.jpeg
DVD cover
Directed by Michael Cristofer
Written by David McKenna
Produced byJennifer Keohane
Harry Colomby
Guy Riedel
Michael Keaton
Starring
Cinematography Rodrigo Garcia
Edited byEric A. Sears
Music by Mark Isham
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release dates
Running time
105 minutes
(unrated cut) [2]
102 minutes
(R-rated cut) [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$752,122 [3]

Body Shots is a 1999 American drama film written by David McKenna and directed by Michael Cristofer. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Jerry O'Connell, Amanda Peet, Tara Reid and Ron Livingston. It tells the story of eight singles whose night of drunken debauchery goes terribly wrong. The film at times has the characters speaking straight to the camera. New Line marketed the film with the poster tagline: "There are movies that define every decade." [4]

Contents

Premise

After a night of clubbing, twenty-somethings Jane and Rick wake up in bed together, unable to recall what happened. They are awoken in the early morning by Jane's friend Sara, who has a busted lip and is bleeding on the forehead. Sara accuses the young man she was with last night, rookie pro-football player Michael, of raping her. Both Sara and Michael were drunk that night and headed back to her place in Santa Monica. Michael claims that the sex was consensual, while Sara cannot remember all of the details.

The story rewinds twenty hours before to retrace the chain of events. Rick, Jane, Sarah, and Michael, as well as waitress Whitney, lonely Emma, straight-laced Shawn, and quirky Trent, all descend on a nightclub for dancing and drinks. They periodically address the camera as if in a documentary and talk about whatever is on their minds, mainly their sex lives. Like the men, the women are mostly looking for casual sex, though a meaningful relationship is seen as an added bonus. Each character ends up interacting with another before the night is over. Sara and Michael's encounter is then presented from their different points of view, with detailed contrasts.

Cast

Production

Tara Reid said the only reason she did a nude scene in this movie was because her character was getting raped: "I'd never do a scene where my character takes off her shirt for no reason, for just a little T&A. That's stupid. That's exploiting yourself. I pass on a lot of movies where they want me to do nude stuff where it's not necessary for the role. It makes a film cheesy." [5]

Reception

The film was critically panned. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 11% based on reviews from 28 critics. [6] On Metacritic the film has a score of 36% based on reviews from 29 critics. [7]

Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times said Body Shots "reveals itself to be neither Rashomon nor serious sociology". [8] The Austin Chronicle 's Sarah Hepola said the film lacks "either the wicked snap of Neil LaBute ( Your Friends & Neighbors ) or the humane, self-deprecating wit of Jon Favreau's Swingers . Sadly, people like this probably do exist. But I wouldn't want to spend any time with them, and I imagine you won't either. [9]

Roger Ebert said Body Shots "means well and has some pointed dialogue about legal pitfalls, but it's clueless about its real subject", becoming more of a cautionary tale about alcoholism rather than date rape. [10] Critics bemoaned the film's decision to show both perspectives of the rape in question, yet refusing to take sides. Ebert said the "ending is inconclusive and unsatisfactory; not only does it fail to find answers–but they would be to the wrong questions". [10] Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDwire criticized the filmmakers for allowing "10 minutes for the football player's point of view", which he said amounted to victim blaming and "playing the sympathy card for the rapist". [11] The shallowness and thin characterizations of the film's characters was also criticized. [11] [10] [1]

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle was one of the few critics to review the film positively. He argued the film's bleak tone is part of its point and commended Reid's performance. [12] He concluded, "This is one of the few movies that don't fully come together until the final shot, and it's one of the most quietly powerful endings in recent memory." [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andie MacDowell</span> American actress and model (born 1958)

Rosalie Anderson MacDowell is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell is known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. She has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman for L'Oréal since 1986.

<i>Casablanca</i> (film) 1942 American romance film

Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid. Filmed and set during World War II, it focuses on an American expatriate (Bogart) who must choose between his love for a woman (Bergman) and helping her husband (Henreid), a Czechoslovak resistance leader, escape from the Vichy-controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Germans. The screenplay is based on Everybody Comes to Rick's, an unproduced stage play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. The supporting cast features Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Farrell</span> Irish actor (born 1976)

Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor. A leading man in blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards and a nomination for an Academy Award. The Irish Times named him Ireland's fifth-greatest film actor in 2020, and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Ricci</span> American actress (born 1980)

Christina Ricci is an American actress and producer. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci works mostly in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box-office hits. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

<i>Magnolia</i> (film) 1999 film by Paul Thomas Anderson

Magnolia is a 1999 American drama film written, directed and co-produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars an ensemble cast, including Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise, Melinda Dillon, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards and Melora Walters. The film is an epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley. The script was inspired by the music of Aimee Mann, who contributed several songs to its soundtrack.

<i>The Mummy</i> (1999 film) 1999 American action-adventure comedy film

The Mummy is a 1999 American action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name. The film follows adventurer and treasure hunter Rick O'Connell as he travels to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, with librarian Evelyn Carnahan and her older brother Jonathan, where they accidentally awaken Imhotep, a cursed high priest with supernatural powers.

<i>Irréversible</i> 2002 French film

Irréversible is a 2002 French art thriller film written and directed by Gaspar Noé. Starring Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, the plot depicts the events of a tragic night in Paris as two men attempt to avenge the brutal rape and beating of the woman they love. The film is made up of a title sequence followed by 13 segments made to look like long takes. Each of these segments is either a continuous shot or a series of shots digitally composited to resemble a continuous shot. The story is told in reverse order, with each scene taking place chronologically before the one that precedes it.

<i>The Life of David Gale</i> 2003 film by Alan Parker

The Life of David Gale is a 2003 crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Alan Parker, written by Charles Randolph, co-produced by Nicolas Cage, and starring Kevin Spacey as the title character, a college professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent; Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, and Gabriel Mann co-star. The film, an international co-production between the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, was Parker's final film before his retirement, and subsequent death in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Reid</span> American actress (born 1975)

Tara Donna Reid is an American actress and model. Her film roles in the late 1990s and 2000s established her status as a sex symbol.

<i>Simply Irresistible</i> (film) 1999 romantic comedy film by Mark Tarlov

Simply Irresistible is a 1999 American romantic comedy film directed by Mark Tarlov and was written by Judith Roberts, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery. It is Regency Enterprises' first film to be released by 20th Century Fox, instead of Warner Bros. Pictures.

<i>The Mother</i> (2003 film) 2003 British film

The Mother is a 2003 British drama film directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi. It stars Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Peter Vaughan, Steven Mackintosh, and Cathryn Bradshaw.

<i>Get Carter</i> (2000 film) 2000 film by Stephen Kay

Get Carter is a 2000 American action thriller film directed by Stephen Kay, written by David McKenna, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Rachael Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, John C. McGinley, Rhona Mitra, and Michael Caine. Based on the Ted Lewis' novel Jack's Return Home, the film is a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, in which a younger Caine played the title role.

<i>Barbarella</i> (film) 1968 film by Roger Vadim

Barbarella is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Roger Vadim, based on the French comic series by Jean-Claude Forest. The film stars Jane Fonda as the title character, a space traveler and representative of the United Earth government sent to find scientist Durand Durand, who has created a weapon that could destroy humanity. The supporting cast includes John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O'Shea, Marcel Marceau, Claude Dauphin, David Hemmings and Ugo Tognazzi.

Trafficked is a 2017 American thriller drama film directed by Will Wallace and starring Ashley Judd, Sean Patrick Flanery and Anne Archer.

<i>The Generals Daughter</i> (film) 1999 film by Simon West

The General's Daughter is a 1999 American mystery thriller film directed by Simon West from a screenplay co-written by Christopher Bertolini and William Goldman, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson DeMille. It stars John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, Clarence Williams III, and James Woods. The plot concerns the mysterious death of the daughter of a prominent Army general. The General's Daughter received negative reviews from critics, but was a box-office success, grossing $149.7 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $60 to $95 million.

<i>The Center of the World</i> 2001 film by Wayne Wang

The Center of the World is a 2001 American drama film directed by Wayne Wang and shot on digital video. It stars Peter Sarsgaard as a dot-com millionaire who hires a drummer/stripper to stay with him in Las Vegas for three days for US$10,000. The film was screened out of competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>American Pie</i> (film) 1999 American film

American Pie is a 1999 American coming-of-age teen sex comedy film directed and co-produced by Paul Weitz and written by Adam Herz. The film's main ensemble cast includes Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Alyson Hannigan, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Seann William Scott, with Eugene Levy, Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Owen, and Jennifer Coolidge in notable supporting roles. The story follows a group of high school classmates who make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate.

<i>Lovely & Amazing</i> 2001 film by Nicole Holofcener

Lovely & Amazing is a 2001 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener.

<i>The Trigger Effect</i> 1996 American film

The Trigger Effect is a 1996 American thriller film written and directed by David Koepp and starring Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue and Dermot Mulroney. The film follows the downward spiral of society during a widespread and lengthy power outage in Southern California. As Koepp's directorial debut, the film was inspired by the 1978 documentary television series Connections, and the 1960 The Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", which starred Koepp's uncle, actor Claude Akins.

<i>Wonder Boys</i> (film) 2000 film by Curtis Hanson

Wonder Boys is a 2000 comedy-drama film directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Steve Kloves. An international co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan, it is based on the 1995 novel by Michael Chabon. Michael Douglas stars as professor Grady Tripp, a novelist who teaches creative writing at a university but has been unable to finish his second novel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Koehler, Robert (October 11, 1999). "Body Shots". Variety . Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Body Shots (1999)". DigitallyObsessed.com. November 2, 2000. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Body Shots (1999)". Box Office Mojo .
  4. ↑ Von Doviak, Scott. "Body Shots". culturevulture.net. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Starlet Wars". New York Daily News . August 20, 2000. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Body Shots". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Body Shots". Metacritic . Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  8. ↑ Van Gelder, Lawrence (October 22, 1999). "FILM REVIEW; Venus And Mars Colliding". The New York Times . Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  9. ↑ Hepola, Sarah (October 29, 1999). "Body Shots". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Ebert, Roger (October 22, 1999). "Body Shots". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Blackwelder, Rob. "Body Shots". SPLICEDwire. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  12. 1 2 LaSalle, Mick (October 22, 1999). "Unbearable Emptiness Of Sex in the '90s / 'Body Shots' an insightful social critique". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved October 16, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.