You Don't Know Dick!

Up until recently, Hollywood wasn't doing Dick. But now it is. I'm talking about going balls out, literally, on full-frontal male nudity in films.

This month, two new releases boast "the man-gina" as co-star: Universal Pictures' Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and New Line Cinema's Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

And it's about time. Women have been prancing nude on-screen for decades but only recently has equality reared its penis-shaped head.

Sure we've seen glimpses of Dick in films: Harvey Keitel in The Piano, Kevin Bacon in Wild Things and an enhanced Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights, to name a few. But it took his next-door neighbors, The Testes, stealing the show in Borat and helping to propel the film to over $125 million at the box-office for Dick to realize that he too had the power to draw big laughs. Now it seems that the purple helmeted warrior has finally found his niche: comedy. Women's breasts have been a punch line for years and now Dick is funny too, even when he just dangles there for seemingly no apparent reason than to just, well, dangle.

First Dick teamed up with Judd Apatow doing what many stars do in the course of charting a career to mega-stardom: modeling. In Superbad, Dick appears in the end credits in the still-life-as-art form, where he was drawn as different historical and pop culture figures: Dick raising the flag at Iwo Jima, Dick as a Jedi Knight, the sinking of the Titanic with drowning Dicks, etc. And with over $120 million stateside for the comedy, this further enhanced Dick, (pun intended), as a box-office draw.

For his next move, Dick went back to live action and reunited with Apatow once again in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Though viewers didn't flock to the film (Dick blames that on the marketing), he plays a hanging schlong hovering near John C. Reilly's face in a hotel room as he speaks on the phone to his wife. It is one of the film's funniest scenes, (freeze frame 1 hour and 23 minutes in... or so I'm told).

Emboldened by positive reactions from audiences and critics, this month Dick is taking a risk in making not one, but two concurrent appearances at the box office. In Sarah Marshall, (also produced by Apatow, rounding out his penis trifecta), actor Jason Segal lets it all hang out while his girlfriend dumps him. In Harold and Kumar, the two lovable stoners attend a "bottomless" party in Miami. In the latter you may not recognize Dick as he's wearing a Jimi Hendrix style 'fro.

It's a move that risks overexposure for Dick, but given his rapid rise (ahem!) in films this past year, an adoring fan base who thinks he can do no wrong, and the growing number of stars who want to work with him, it appears that male genitalia is hitting its cinematic stride and Dick is finally ready for his close-up.

Comments

[yosephus]

A "mangina" is not the penis and balls. It is the penis and balls tucked between the legs to look like a vagina. Ted Levine had one in Silence of the Lambs.

Please, terms must be used correctly in serious philosophical discussions such as this.

[Aramingo]

And don't forget the VD lecture from Groove Tube.

Hmm... Talk about showing your age!

[musicman42]

If true equallity is the goal, then be prepared. The complaint I often hear is that women want to see a hard dick, not a flacid one. So you really mean you want to see a penis in it's fullest, most aroused and erect state. Cool. Glad to share.(If the law is changed and we don't get arrested!) But I also would like to see the same state of arousel of your genitalia from women. If not, then flacid will have to do.

[JJI]

What we need is full frontal nudity out of our presidential candidates

[bigpat]

TV is catching up as well. If you watched HBO's series "Tell Me You Love Me" this past year you were exposed to all parts of the body, male and female. Don't care as long as the writing and acting is worth watching.

[grisgris]

Yes, but unfortunately, the show sucked. I wanted to slap those whiny, cry baby characters. The nudity wasn't even worth it.

[julieeiluj]

Oh there is nothing attractive about a flaccid peepee. How did Elaine put it, "the male nude is utilitarian, like a jeep."

[cylindar]

It's time has come!!!

[BillLumbergh]

Not to be a total dick, but we really don't see female genitalia in hollywood flicks. A patch of hair ain't genitalia by my description.
Could Scarlett Johansen be the first, please?

[EdwardM]

Speaking full frontal male nudity, a friend told me about a new film - The Auteur - premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival in a few weeks. This movie looks hilarious. If you're in NYC check it out.

There's also a clip with the director James Westby's extremely dry commentary on youtube. One of the actors mentions it's the 1st instance of "hackey sack" being played while naked in a feature film. who knew?

[conniepikeplace]

I am IN LOVE with JAMES WESTBY! FILM GEEK is an absolute GEM and I cannot wait for some big screen frontal in The Auteur. Thank god for Tribeca!

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

Full frontal male nudity has been common in European film for decades. Now that the boomer demographic has been replaced by the teen audience as the largest film demographic, movies are apt to reflect this shift.

As for the Piano: New Zealand Writer/Director, Internationally produced (Australia/France), filmed and set in New Zealand.

[NedFlanders19]

Hard hitting news like this is why people read Huff-po.

We've been waiting for an article like this explode onto the scene and now its time has come. Hopefully these new stars can rise to the occasion. I'd like to let them know that we're pulling for you to go all the way.

One piece of advice for these newcomers who are ready to shoot for the top - get a good agent because its easy to get screwed in this business and once you get shafted it takes longer to come back. So stand up for yourself, keep your eye on the prize and you'll be fine, no matter how sticky the situation is.

Thanks for everything, I'll be here all week - try the roast beef!

[JScott]

'I gotta get even with Dr. Dick'-Maryanne Thorpe.

[tasukibeth1]

Ewan McGregors' can sing and dance.

Check out "The Pillow Book" followed by "Velvet Goldmine"

[grisgris]

Ewan McGregor showed his stuff in "Trainspotting". It was impressive.

[Burnsey]

Hello. How could you forget Viggio Mortenson? His dick does stunt work, and garners nary a mention....

[european]

How sad would it be, were it ever to become known mockingly as the cheney, even in its flaccid state...