Watching Hollywood movies for 50 years has left me with many probing questions, like:
1. How do actresses fake fellatio?
2. How does one make a merkin?
3. How did Jane Fonda handle floating naked in the credit sequence to Barbarella?
The answers can be found in Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s documentary Body Parts. I’ll only reveal the secret behind No. 3: “I just got drunk, basically.”
Definitely not to be confused to with the same-named Jeff Fahey horror film, Body Parts is a moles-and-all look behind the scenes of depicting sex onscreen … and how one gender has a much tougher go of it than another. Through no apparent order, we’re taken to a training for intimacy coordinators, shown the process for digital de-aging and allowed a peek at the body-doubling biz.
That’s about 50% of the mix; the other half explores the political side, full of coercion and exploitation in a town more comfortable with violence. As Rosanna Arquette says, not without firsthand experience, women “have to fight for ownership of their own body.” As if her words weren’t enough, Sarah Scott (Soaked in Bleach) gives a chilling, enraging account of alleged sexual harassment by The Rules of Attraction actor Kip Pardue.
By design more interesting than entertaining, Body Parts also features Emily Meade, Sheryl Lee and Rose McGowan among the interviewees. One of its indisputable takeaways involves America’s double standard surrounding nudity: “Penises are pornography; tits are art.” —Rod Lott
