Throughout cinema history, there have been some iconic nude scenes that have transcended the bounds of the films in which they appeared. Our weekly column Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy will take an in-depth look at these scenes, their history, their deeper meanings, and their legacy. This week, Kevin Bacon manages to steal Wild Things right out from under his younger, sexier co-stars!
By the time 1998 rolled around, Kevin Bacon was a household name. Sure, he didn't have the accolades or box office smashes to his name that many of his contemporaries did, but his proclivity for turning up in high profile Hollywood ensemble pieces tied his legacy to the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," which posits that Bacon is less than six co-stars removed from any other actor in the history of film. Although Bacon was well-known for playing dubious characters on film like those he played in Sleepers and JFK, his affable nature and general demeanor made him among the more likable stars of the silver screen.
The appearance of Bacon and co-star Bill Murray made Wild Things seem as if it were taking a stab at respectability amongst its cast. The film's main stars—Denise Richards, Neve Campbell, and Matt Dillon—were there for sex appeal, while Bacon was seen as the more serious actor helping to add an air of legitimacy to the whole thing. This is the reason his full frontal reveal in the film's third act was so shocking to audiences. They likely figured that if they were going to see a dick, it'd be attached to Matt Dillon.
The film's elaborate, needlessly complex narrative features a number of twists and turns, including Bacon's reveal in the shower. At this point in the film, the audience thinks that Bacon is on the right side of the law, having shot Richards' character and gotten kicked off the force as a result. However, it turns out that he's been working with Dillon's Sam Lombardo to frame Richards for the murder of Campbell. Lombardo comes home after Richards has been "killed" and opens the shower door to be confronted not by a still alive Richards, but by a semi-erect Kevin Bacon!
In an interview with Huffington Post Live, director John McNaughton gave the background on how the nude scene came to be, considering Bacon apparently had a no-nudity clause in his contract...
"Kevin steps out of the shower and Matt throws him a towel and he catches it and it covers him and he did it in every take but one. It was a little miscue and it didn't cover him... I had long worked with a female editor Elena Maganini... she's cut every picture I ever did, we're very good friends, and she wanted that one (take) and we're going, 'I don't know if Kevin will like that...' and she goes, 'Come on, it's not fair!' And you have to go, 'Well, you're right it's not fair.' So we called Kevin and he said, 'Well, how do I look?' and we said, 'You look good Kevin,' and he goes, 'No problem!'"
Now, this wasn't the first time that Bacon had show his non-kosher delicacy on film. He had been nude four times prior to Wild Things, including full frontal scenes in both Pyrates and Murder in the First. Perhaps because it came in such a high profile film, not to mention a much sexier context than Murder in the First, but horny dudes flocking to see Denise Richards and Neve Campbell have a threesome were thrown for a loop when confronted, thirty minutes later, by Bacon's fluffed member.
In a 2005 interview with Total Film while promoting his film The Woodsman, Bacon said he was surprised that people made such a big deal out of that nude scene at the time...
"I didn’t think any more about it so I was shocked, really shocked, when everyone kept on about it after the movie’s release. It really wasn’t that big a deal."
When pressed by the interviewer, Bacon recalls how the scene was cut down so much that his full frontal was the least of his concerns when it came to the finished product...
"Actually, the movie almost came with another surprise for people to talk about, cos Matt was gonna climb in the shower with me! I thought it was great because the whole movie is about secrets coming out, right? As reveals go, that one was just huge. Unfortunately, the financiers didn’t like the idea of men making out. They felt it went too far. They felt it wasn’t right."
Bacon has continued to be an advocate for male nudity on the big screen, shooting this PSA in 2015 to rally his fellow actors to his cause...
What can you say except Kevin Bacon has got a great sense of humor and a cheeky self-awareness that's in short supply in this industry. Join us again next week as we take a look at Jason Segel's comedic full frontal from Forgetting Sarah Marshall!
Catch up with our other editions of Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy...
—Two of History's Manliest Men Wrestle Naked in Women in Love
—Ewan McGregor Has Got It, Flaunts It in Velvet Goldmine
—A Pair of Stars are Born in Y Tu Mamá También
—Harvey Keitel Goes Hog Wild in Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant
—Viggo Mortensen is Naked From Every Imaginable Angle in Eastern Promises
