I did something that I'm not particularly proud of this weekend, and that something was buying "Wild Things" for $1.99 at a used DVD store and then I watched it for the second time in my life.
The first time I reviewed the movie for my college newspaper, The Daily Texan, and I think I gave it 2 1/2 stars for the sheer amount of South Floria sleaze that the movie oozed all over the screen.
After a careful analysis, however, I think I was too harsh on the movie because I've now concluded that "Wild Things" is sneakily excellent in its sheer awfulness - and that can be a very good thing.
That being said, even if I would be careful where I admitted to such an opinion.
It's not something you would lob out at a dinner party where the conversation had been steering towards Godard or Christopher Guest or "Chinatown."
That kind of crowd wouldn't want me to follow up a long-winded discourse on Brando and De Niro's method acting with a "I really think we're overlooking the merits of "Wild Things" tonight people."
No. Something like "Wild Things" is a film that one needs to watched and appreciated behind closed doors.
One virtue of the movie is the ample nudity, although not all of it is of a good variety.
In fact, "Wild Things" is a perfect example of how nudity can either help or harm a film depending on the guilty party.
On one hand, there's an enthralling threesome scene that would fall squarely in the good nudity category, but then a half hour after that high point, Kevin Bacon shows up and serves up his meat in a shower scene. 
Bad nudity. Bad.
The double-edged sword of movie nudity quickly got me thinking of other notably bad movie scenes where a major star was naked.
These are by no means the only violaters of the nudity rule, but here's a starting point of offenders.
1) Kathy Bates in "About Schmidt" - A very uncomfortable hot tub scene.
2) Michael Douglas in "Basic Instinct" - The old butt-walking in the moonlight scene. 
3) Ned Beatty in "Deliverance" - Nobody should ever be told to "Squeal like a pig."
4) Bruce Willis in "Color of Night" - A movie as meaningless as the shot showing Bruce flapping around in swimming pool.
5) Julianne Moore in "Short Cuts" - Moore plays a whole scene sans pants.
I know there are others still out there, but that's all that springs to mind for now.
Then again, my brain is still running a little slow from the whole "Wild Things" experience.
-BDS
I guess I better give this movie another try. You certainly make it sound more appealing than I recall. I had hoped to add to your 'bad nudity hall of fame' but think you nailed it!
"Wild Things" is tacky and awful, but if you give over to its certain charms, it can be rewarding.
The scene where Matt Damon removes Denise Richard's panties, puts them in his pocket and utters the line "Guidance counselors learn the most interesting things about their students" is pure sleazy genius.
As for "Monster's Ball," I hate to ever turn down Halle Berry nudity, but I think it made vague sense in relation to the film's plot and wasn't just pure exploitation like her topless scene in "Swordfish."
Editor's note: It was Matt Dillon not Matt Damon removing the panties.
Tacky and awful indeed, but so wonderfully trashy at the same time... so bad, but so good.
Uneccessary nudity is a must in most action flicks though. Shoot em' up, car chases and boobs... what more do you want really!!
Cool blog.
Cool Blog! You've seen "Wild Things" twice well I've seen "Strange Brew" twice. It doesn't have the nudity, but lots of McKenzie Brothers. I have no idea why I watched it a second time.
Heck there are some movies I've seen twice that surprise people, like "Strange Brew," which I'm sure is awful on many counts, but has some weird hold over people.
Cool blog. Good luck on your scripts!
Nudity in action flicks is required, and usually the more unnecessary the better in my book as I don't go to those movies for intellectual stimulation.
And "Strange Brew" is always a worthy choice, but I haven't seen it all the way through in probably 10 years.