Writing the Sex Scene

Rouge Wavers, I cry for what my eyes have seen; sex scenes in scripts so x-rated, so funny, so lame that my brain is seared forever. Now let’s face some facts: characters in scripts get it on. They do the nasty. They make whoopee.



It has come to the Wave-inatrix’s attention that certain – ah – male writers, have more of an affinity than others for writing sex scenes. And to these particular writers I say guys: wrong industry. Super graphic, nasty sex in any script in any genre – except the porn industry – is yicky. That is indeed the technical term bandied about by readers, execs and producers. Well, that’s not entirely true but when writing a sex scene, first make sure the scene is justified within the story. In other words – is it gratuitious? Wazzat mean? That means are you doing it because it turns you on as a writer? Or are you deliberately trying to make the script more sexy and thusly saleable? Do you perhaps have a good connection to Pamela Anderson and this scene is in hopes of casting her? Bad reasons all.



Gratuitous sex and violence in a script casts an amateurish pall over the material full stop. Rouge Wavers would truly be appalled if I were to recount some of the nasty things I have read in scripts. In fact, I once asked another reader what the reader equivalent of a palate cleanser was. Jack Daniels, he intoned with absolutely no irony in his voice.



Now don’t get me wrong; erotic scenes in movies are great. But note the word erotic versus pornographic or graphic. If you have an R-rated script or even a PG-13 and two or more characters are going to get it on in a scene, remember this; lots and lots of people are going to read your script before it gets made, yes? You have the potential to offend any number of folks during this process, for one. And secondly, say your movie really does get made – the director and actors will interpret the scene and just how hot and heavy it needs to be to be a plus to the movie experience and not a weird, kinky sideways alley.

Tragicomic descriptions I have seen in scripts:
He goes at her like a champ.
They exchange fluids.
They exchange passion.
He puts his xxxxx up her xxxxx and she’s already xxxxx.
Oh! Oh! Oh Jake! Oh! Oh!
She rides him
He xxxxx her like a stallion.
He humps her in the bathroom stall.

And dozens upon dozens just not fit to print here. Or anywhere, really.



I think we all remember the brilliant sex scene in AMERICAN BEAUTY in which the normally uptight Annette Benning screams to the rafters as she gets it on with the real estate king. Funny as hell, reveals her character and absolutely tonally perfect for the script. Or the hysterical scene in OFFICE SPACE when Livingston imagines his girlfriend in bed with his boss. FUNNY.

Sex scenes written poorly fall under several categories:

Pulp romance scenes not worthy of Danielle Steele: think heaving bosoms and turgid members.

Pornographic scenes complete with identified body parts and sound effects: think exactly what you’re already thinking, you dirty minded bad boy!

Mechanical, repressed, inadvertently funny scenes: think “he unbuttons his pants.” And “her nipples grow firm.” And “they pull back the sheets and fall onto the bed.” Oh! Oh! Oh! Esther!



Really, and this sounds like a great topic for the next Rouge Wave time killing survey, there are tons of movies with great, really erotic, sex scenes. And it depends on your movie, right? SECRETARY – super erotic for some, very uncomfortable for others. Remember Philip Kaufman’s HENRY AND JUNE? Ditto. With an NC-17 rating.

Keep the sex scene you are writing within the context of the story and the characters. Does the tone match the script in other words? Are you overwriting the scene, should you leave room for the actor and director to make it more artful and erotic? Are you writing the scene for your own entertainment? Are you trying to be shocking? What rating do you want your script to get?



Rouge Wavers – you’ve all seen trillions of movies – sex scenes run the gamut from playful, erotic, tender, violent and artful. Sex is a complicated thing. Do it justice, just don’t lose your story – or your reader – in the process.


Scripts with a variety of sex scenes to read for homework:

Body Heat
Fatal Attraction
Last Tango in Paris
Secretary
When Harry Met Sally
Henry and June
Monster’s Ball
Amelié
American Beauty
Nine ½ Half Weeks
Unfaithful

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