Sex pheromones flow freely as Americans make interracial sexytime. Since the 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision struck down anti-miscegenation laws -- bans against domestic, marital or sexual intermingling between various ethnic groups -- the number of multicultural couples bouncing their mattresses to marital bliss has increased. In celebration of our multi-ethnic president's parents, why not cozy up to your DVD player and watch one or more of the Top 10 Movies with Steamy Interracial Couples? Selected film trailers and other juicy nibbles are available online.
1. Alfie
Directed by Charles Shyer, 2004
Never before has a blonde British cad looked so sexy sprawled atop a pool table with a brown American woman. Indulging in the fruit of his best pal's girlfriend, Lonette (Nia Long), Manhattan-dwelling Alfie's (Jude Law) womanizing ways eventually catch up to him faster than he can change his sheets.
In Something New, Kenya Denise McQueen (Sanaa Latham) is a successful black woman whose recipe for love includes one main ingredient: a black man. Unexpected passion ensues after her coworker sets her up on a blind date with a very blond gardener named Brian Kelly (Australian actor Simon Baker).
Reel Couple, Take Two: Nip/Tuck. Sanaa Lathan likes to go Down (Under); in this deeply superficial series, Michelle Landau (Latham) mounts an intense relationship with playboy Dr. Christian Troy (Australian actor Julian McMahon).
3. 007
A View to Kill, Directed by John Glen, 1985.
Tomorrow Never Dies, Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, 1997.
Die Another Day, Directed by Lee Tamahori, 2002.
Aged nearly 50 years and counting, the financially successful 007 film franchise occasionally features Bond Girls with deeper skin tones. Roger Moore frolics with Jamaican-born actress Grace Jones in A View to Kill. A gorgeous, blue-eyed Pierce Brosnan locks lips with Academy Award® Winner Halle Berry in Die Another Day and tussles with Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies.
4. Fools Rush In
Directed by Andy Tennant, 1997.
Manhattanite Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) hails from a buttoned-up WASP family, and Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek) grew up Catholic in Mexico. Their characters are much more attractive than the stereotypes they represent. "In case you haven't noticed," Alex's dad exclaims while fanning himself during an introductory meeting with Isabel's parents under outdoor sun, "the white people are melting out here!" Alex and Isabel meet, get married, have children and live happily ever after -- however, not necessarily in that order.
5. Mission: Impossible 2
Directed by John Woo, 2000
Years before leaping off Oprah's couch, Tom Cruise captivated Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton) while starring as Ethan Hunt in the motion picture sequel of Mission: Impossible -- originally a CBS television series about secret agents.
IMDB | Netflix | BBC Review
Take Two: In 1991, Newton faced off with Tom Cruise's future wife-come-ex, Nicole Kidman, in the coming-of-age Australian film, Flirting, about a budding interracial teen romance between Thandiwe Adjewa (Newton) and Danny Embling(Noah Taylor).
6. Russian Dolls (Les Poupées russes)
Directed by Cedric Klapisch, 2005.
Ooh la la!! "As its attractive characters, on the verge of 30, whiz between Paris and London on the Eurostar express and jaunt off to St. Petersburg for a wedding," New York Times film critic Stephen Holden writes, "you wish their American screen counterparts were as comfortable in their skins and as relaxed about sex." In Cedric Klapisch's swank follow-up to romantic comedy L'Auberge Espagnole, sultry Frenchman Xavier (Romain Duris) enjoys a brief tango in Paris with Senegalese sales clerk / fashionista Kassia (Aïssa Maïga) before his long trek toward love returns him where he started.
Take Two: If your film palate enjoys French, try Cafe au Lait (Métisse) -- a film about a bi-racial temptress named Lola's quest to determine whether her baby's father is the wealthy black Muslim from a diplomatic family or the impoverished Jewish bike messenger.
7. Jackie Brown
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, 1997.
Drug-smuggling flight attendant Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is one bad mamma jamma wooed by smitten bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster).
8. Guess Who
Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, 2005.
In a loose re-interpretation of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, sexy Simon Green (Ashton Kutcher) and his spritely girlfriend Theresa Jones (Zoë Saldaña) happily consummate their love -- even though Theresa's father, Percy Jones (Bernie Mac), initially disapproves of the interracial relationship.
9. Fakin' Da Funk
Directed by Timothy A. Chey, 1997.
Chinese-American adoptee Julian Lee (Dante Basco) shows off his hip-hop moves and basketball dunks to attract the object of his desire, Karyn (Tatyana Ali). Baby-faced Julian is pleasantly surprised that his crush -- a woman whose skin matches dear old mom, Annabelle Lee (Pam Grier) -- likes him most when he isn't "faking the funk." Margaret Cho, Tone Loc, Nell Carter and others round out this comedy-drama.
IMDB | Amazon | Variety Review
Take Two: Other 1990s movies about interracial dating include Spike Lee's Jungle Fever and Anthony Drazan's Zebrahead.
10. The Wedding Banquet. (喜宴)
Directed by Ang Lee, 1993.
Boys meets girl when hunky Wai-Tung Gao (Winston Chao), a gay Taiwanese-American man, marries Wei-Wei (May Chin) to satiate her desire for a green card and placate his parents. However, Wai-Tung's attempts to hide his happy relationship with his real partner, a white dude named Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein), get scrambled when his parents arrive to plan a traditional Chinese wedding banquet for their son and his pretend bride.
If you have additional movies you'd recommend, please share them in the comments section below.