The 10 funniest movie sex scenes of all time
By and large, on-screen sex isn’t supposed to be funny outside of the realms of comedy, but that hasn’t prevented scenes designed to stream up the multiplex, generating uncontrollable laughter instead.
Whether it’s down to music choices, shot selection, camerawork, or direction, the lines between a sensual cinematic experience and a cringe-inducing bout of unintentional hilarity have often proven themselves to be mighty thin indeed.
Of course, some of the most memorable sex scenes ever committed to celluloid have been played entirely for laughs, but on the other side of the coin, some of the funniest ever filmed had no intention of being anything other than deadly serious until they were screened for an audience.
The following ten titillating takes comprise both sides of the divide, but the uniting factor is that whether through accident or design, mirth was the overriding feeling at the point of climax.
The 10 funniest sex scenes:
10. Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009)
Subtlety and restraint have never been hallmarks of Zack Snyder’s work, so when he opted to include a love scene he presumably intended to be tender in Watchmen, there was a 50/50 chance he would fail to hit the mark.
By setting the sequence to the strains of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ as a man dressed in a rubber owl costume strips down to get it on with a fellow crimefighter, unintentionally portentous hilarity proved to be the order of the day, with the ludicrousness extending through to the climactic shot of what’s clearly to be interpreted as an ejaculatory exclamation from Nite Owl’s bespoke flying machine.
Unfolding in excruciatingly awkward fashion in the confines of a superhero’s craft that kicks off in the first place when they simultaneously discover that beating up bad guys leaves them inexplicably turned on, it’s hard not to let out at least a snicker when Watchmen‘s intimacy ended up being so funny.
9. Office Space (Mike Judge, 1999)
Ron Livingston’s Peter Gibbons experiences a life that far too many people can identify with, as the spectre of Gary Cole’s overbearing boss, Bill Lumbergh, haunts his every moment, whether he’s at work or not.
Even his dreams aren’t safe, with Peter visualising the hauntingly hilarious mental imagery of Bill copulating while sipping on a coffee, in the sort of fantasy no self-respecting employee could have conjured even in their wildest nightmares.
Gently thrusting to and fro, Bill looking directly at the camera while making a point of asking for those TPS reports to be on his desk as soon as possible proves to be the final straw, jolting Peter awake and freeing him from the repeated subconscious cries of “Lumbergh fucked her, Lumbergh fucked her.”
8. MacGruber (Jorma Taccone, 2010)
Christopher Nolan is known to be a huge fan of MacGruber, which was outed by Anne Hathaway for having a habit of quoting it on set, but the prospect of the acclaimed filmmaker replicating the grunts made by Will Forte’s title character doesn’t even bear thinking about.
Beginning as a homage to the love scenes of yesterday, Mr. Mister’s ‘Broken Wings’ kicks in amongst shots of flickering candles and sensual touching alongside Kristin Wiig’s Vicki before a jarring cutaway reveals that maybe MacGruber isn’t all that much of a ladies man after all.
The shot of him humping away like a madman while letting out guttural howls intentionally carries on for way longer than it realistically should, obliterating the eroticism in phenomenal fashion.
7. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (David Zucker, 1988)
One of the greatest spoofs ever made, no target was safe from Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin, and that extended even to the relatively straightforward act of coitus.
Sitting by the fireside with Priscilla Presley’s Jane Spencer, the two trade quips and double entendres before Drebin’s suit is ripped away with the greatest of ease. Not ones to avoid precautions, though, they confirm that both are practitioners of safe sex.
As it turns out, they display that in the most literal fashion, squashing up against each other wearing full-body condoms, the squeaking of rubber only heightening the hilarity as they collapse into bed for the first time as a couple.
6. Basic Instinct 2 (Michael Caton-Jones, 2006)
Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct was a major box office success that became a pop culture staple following its release, serving as one of the defining erotic thrillers of the genre’s boom period in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Returning to the role of Catherine Tramell almost a decade and a half later, it would be an understatement to say Sharon Stone’s sequel was a misfire. Leaving the entirety of the United Kingdom baffled, the very first scene features Stan Collymore getting caught up in a spot of mutual masturbation while driving at high speed.
When the peak of their physical encounter approaches, she opts to drive their car right off the road and send it plummeting into the watery depths below. Collymore’s acting career did not take off in the aftermath, and his contributions to the world of cinema somehow proved to be less scintillating than Ally McCoist’s A Shot at Glory, hardly an ideal return given his presence in a steamy sequel.
5. Bananas (Woody Allen, 1971)
Woody Allen built his career on awkwardness, and having known full well that nobody wanted to see him in a straightforward sex scene, he decided to play it for the most uncomfortable laughs imaginable in Bananas.
Consummating his marriage on their honeymoon night, Louise Lasser’s Nancy and Allen’s Fielding Mellish are interrupted by Howard Cosell, one of the most influential sports broadcasters in American history. Treating their lovemaking as if it were a real event, he offers play-by-play as a crowd cheers in the background.
Hyping up Allen as if he were a boxer preparing for a title fight, the encouragement of the gathered masses spurs him on to put on a show-stopping performance, with Cosell even hopping into bed with them in the aftermath to gather Mellish’s thoughts on what had just transpired.
4. Team America: World Police (Trey Parker, 2004)
A sex scene in a movie with a cast comprised entirely of puppets is preposterous, whichever way anybody wants to look at it, but the masterminds behind South Park somehow still managed to upend expectations by going full-bore in Team America.
Mimicking the artistry of 1980s cinematic eroticism before diving headlong into an exaggerated version of smashing a pair of action figures together, the sheer variety of positions is as commendable as it is graphic, despite neither of the participants having the requisite body parts needed for the act itself.
The sensual power ballad playing over the top is the icing on the cake, with Trey Parker and Matt Stone lampooning the sex scene’s soft-rocking and dimly-lit heyday with maniacal glee.
3. The Room (Tommy Wiseau, 2003)
In Tommy Wiseau’s mind, he was probably convinced that he’d set a new benchmark for cinematic titillation when he scripted and shot The Room‘s inadvertently otherworldly sex scene.
Through his acting, the star and filmmaker gives off the impression that not only has he never been with a woman before, but he may have never even visited this planet prior to the first day on set. It’s long since become part of the film’s folklore, but let’s just say he’s a lot closer to his co-star’s belly button than the intended target.
About as romantic as being kicked in the teeth and possibly less enjoyable to experience for the first time, it’s made all the more concerning by tales of The Room‘s two sex scenes both being filmed on day one, presumably so Wiseau could establish dominance and mark his territory as an uber-macho specimen as well as a directorial savant.
2. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (Terry Jones, 1983)
Teaching teenage boys about sex education has been the scourge of many a teacher, but not even an in-class demonstration was able to capture the attention of the students in The Meaning of Life.
The final of the legendary troupe’s features to include all six members, John Cleese decides that he’s got no choice but to resort to drastic measures when a lesson on the birds and the bees is being completely ignored by the classroom.
Drafting in his wife, the two hop into the bed as Cleese continues to talk the disinterested students through the literal ins and outs of the process, with his upper lip far from the only thing remaining stiff as he drily recites the anatomically correct actions he’s undertaking.
1. Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, 1995)
Thrashing around like a fish out of water, Elizabeth Berkley can’t be faulted for giving her all in Showgirls‘ legendary pool-set romp, even if it’s gone down in history for all the wrong reasons.
The erotic thriller turned out to be one of the most unintentionally funny movies ever made, with nothing encapsulating it more than having to watch her and Kyle MacLachlan flail around for some champagne-assisted fornication that finds her deciding the best way to get the most out of the experience is to treat it as if she’s trying to cause enough body-to-body friction to power a small country.
Meanwhile, MacLachlan just kind of sits there doing very little, possibly because he was frightened that even the slightest twitch would compress his lower back into nothing but dust. Either way, it’s supposed to be sexy, but was side-splitting instead.
