Blue in the Face (1995) came about because Wayne Wang, when he finished Smoke, thought there was too much material in the minor characters that hadn't been covered, and went back to the studio and requested that he be able to make a second picture immediately. He brought back some of the main characters, recruited a bunch of celebrities to make cameo appearances, wrote some rough scenarios, then had everyone improvise. They were told to talk until they were blue in the face, and the film was shot in two weeks for $2M. Unfortunately, it only grossed $1.28M. The film is kind of a love ballad to Brooklyn, and is a series of nearly unconnected subplots that all take place around the Brooklyn Cigar Company.

Some of the film worked very well, other sections did not, and the difference seemed to be the ability of the various performers to do improv, a talent that not all actors have. The standout was Lily Tomlin, as a homeless woman looking for a place that sold Belgian waffles. Her character was so well developed that I didn't even recognize her. Among the cast were Madonna doing a singing telegram, Michael J. Fox, Roseanne and Mira Sorvino. Mel Gorham, as Harvey Keitel's girlfriend, provided the exposure wearing nothing but white panties dressing in front of a mirror. If there was a main plot, it was that the owner nearly sold the store, then changed his mind.

IMDB readers have this at 6.3 of 10. Ebert found things to like about it, but blamed inconsistent improv in awarding 2 1/2 stars. Berardinelli liked it better at 3 1/2 stars. Rotten Tomatoes rates it 36% overall, with the two top guys, Berardinelli and Ebert, splitting 50/50. I suspect that your appreciation of this film will very much be related to your appreciation of Brooklyn, but there are segments that most people will enjoy, and, at 83 minutes, it is a quick watch. C.

Women:

Celebrity Sleuth issue #25 has hit the stands, and there is some good material in there. His general theme is the Anatomy Awards, and the specific theme of all these pictures is "braless women facing flashbulbs in thin black dresses".

• Rene Zellweger. Given the lack of nudity in her career, these four pictures represent just about the best public exposure of her life. She looks very lovely here, especially in picture number 2. (1, 2, 3, 4)
• Geena Davis. Over the years, there have been many revealing paparazzi pictures of free-spirited Geena, but I have never seen this see-through before.
• Julia Roberts. This picture doesn't show much at all, but there is simply not much available on Julia, and she is a first magnitude star.
• Julianne Moore. Any pictures of Julianne are OK with me, and the first one is quite revealing. (1, 2)
• Rosie Perez. Very revealing see-through, and a very attractive shape beneath.

ChickenMan is kind of a new contributor to the team, and he's on the prowl for things we haven't seen before. This is the second time he's come through. These are Debrah Farentino's famous nude scene on NYPD Blue. After having worked with all the caps ChickenMan sent in, I believe her breasts were digitally blurred in the part of the scene when she was on top. However, there are good looks at her buns, and maybe even a very dark flash of crotch.

• Debrah Farentino (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Updates:

• Charlie's French Cinema Nudity site is updated

Mailbox:

Hey Scoop,

The Mosher here, longtime reader, sometime member, infrequent feedbacker.     :)

I live in LA and listen to Kevin & Bean on KROQ every morning...including Wednesday morning when they did the Jerry Lewis thing.

For one thing, they are NOT 'shock jocks'.  They're you standard FM morning show, interviewing celebrity du jour, doing silly comedy bits with very mild offensive value (quizzes like 'know your lesbians').  They definitely aren't Howard Stern or Leykis.

Ralph, the comedy guy, does an UNCANNY Jerry Lewis impression.  You'd  have to hear it to believe it.  It's really outstanding.  They did an 'interview' with him for awhile, then called someone in France to try to win them over to the US stance by 'Jerry' pitching it to them.  They then called the president's office and, as the story says, apparently got ditched.

I did NOT hear the actual call, I got to work before it played since it happened during commercial and Chris Rock came into the studio after that break and they had to talk to him.  They mentioned it, though, and  sounded really stunned.

The following day, all hell had kind of broken loose.  The management at KROQ are, well, dicks.  Kevin & Bean alternate between the #1 and #2 spot in LA morning radio with Rick Dees.  These guys are huge, yet the station frequently busts their balls over something on the show.

Apparently they were called DIRECTLY in to see the lawyers.  They hinted that the station was SUING THEM over this!  They did a couple of bits about it...calling other radio stations looking for jobs, just generally calling the station every name in the book.  Thursday after the show they had an immediate meeting with the lawyers again.  On Friday, they spent a LOT of time talking about how wonderful Jerry Lewis and the French are...in that 'we have to do this' kind of way.

So, yeah.  It was real.  For some reason, they're getting in all sorts of trouble for it, and it wasn't like they called Chirac a motherfucker
or something. Just wanted to let ya know: not shock jocks, and it was real.  :)

Seeya,

Mosher
 

Other crap:

• Tips for dorks - how to be funny
• Interview with the webmaster of whitehouse.org. That's the satire site which got the note from Dick Cheney's lawyer.
• Sasquatch captures human woman to be love slave. She says Sassy is a dud in the sack. I'll bet you know the source of this before clicking to get there!
• current RPI ratings for March Madness reference
• classic 1950s sex-ed and sex etiquette instruction. Great stuff!!
• FLASH! The word is made flesh again. God comes to earth as a 20lb fish that speaks fluent Hebrew. It was finally butchered by one of the witnesses and sold. (Yeah, there was a smart idea! A fish is speaking to me in Hebrew, what should I do? I know - KILL it!!!! And, oh, what the hell, no sense letting Him go to waste, so I'll sell Him as well.) The buyers have claimed that he was truly a great god, especially with lemon butter or tartar sauce.
   

What're the odds?

75th Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role

From the Los Angeles Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. Closing Date: Mar 23, 2003 20:00

Daniel Day-Lewis breaks away from his dead heat with Jack Nicholson, and emerges as the odds-on favorite for the Oscar. (If DDL gets the Oscar, I agree that he earned it.  I don't know if Bill the Butcher was really good acting, but it will probably be remembered as one of the most lasting characterizations in film history. And how can you turn down a guy who spends an entire movie in a Dr. Seuss hat? Brody was also superior in The Pianist, but just not as colorful and memorable as DDL.)

"Board Heads"
Board Heads is listed in the IMDB as Beach Movie, although it would probably be better called Bored Heads. It was very similar to the beach movies of a few years ago, plenty of scantily clad women and no plot. The credits weren't a lot of help in identifying the women, they were given names but they weren't used in the movie. For example, the bikini-clad bimbos in the fifth collage are probably Tracy Dali and Tawni Graf.

Of those we know, we have cleavage and pokies for Loretta Swit (and looking like she's had one too many lifts), Meadow Sisto, Sara Melson, Portia Dawson and Gabrielle Anwar. Victoria Silvtedt is one of the named women who is topless.

• Loretta Swit
• Meadow Sisto
• Sara Melson
• Portia Dawson (1, 2, 3)
• Gabrielle Anwar (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Victoria Silvtedt (1, 2)
• Traci Bingham
• Unknowns (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

"Surviving Gilligan's Island"
Lots of cleavage by Kristen Dalton in Surviving Gilligan's Island. She plays the role of Tina Louise as they continue to milk the show.

• Kristen Dalton (1, 2)

"Erotic Tales: Sweeties"
I first remember Stefania Sandrelli in The Godfather, and these caps show that age has taken its toll and some things have dropped. Plenty of nudity from an episode of Erotic Tales called Sweeties...

• Stefania Sandrelli (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

"Walk the Talk"
Lots of lovely leg by Nikki Bennett in the Australian movie Walk the Talk.

• Nikki Bennett (1, 2, 3)

"Urbania"
The brief topless nudity in Urbania is by Melinda Wade. Paige Turco gets her clothes off just before she steals a kidney.

• Melinda Wade
• Paige Turco (1, 2)

"The Harrad Summer"
The Harrad Summer is a sequel to The Harrad Experiment, a movie with plenty of nudity that appeared in the Funhouse late last year. This movie is what the students do over the summer break. Unfortunately, at least in the version I saw they largely kept the goodies hidden. The briefest glimpse of nipple comes from Patrice Rohmer, with Laurie Walters, Mimi Saffian and Victoria Thompson providing the glamour.

• Patrice Rohmer
• Laurie Walters (1, 2)
• Mimi Saffian
• Victoria Thompson

"100 Women"
The topless caps of Erinn Bartlett have appeared before but there's lots more in 100 Women. Terrific pokies by Chene Lawson, and Juleah Weikel, Jennifer Morrison and some unknowns provide more interest.

• Erinn Bartlett (1, 2, 3, 4)
• Chene Lawson (1, 2, 3)
• Juleah Weikel
• Jennifer Morrison (1, 2)
• unknowns

"Forever Lulu"
There's full frontal nudity by Melanie Griffith in Forever Lulu. Three things are wrong: it's a long shot, she's had a Brazilian and it's probably a body double. Rats.

• Melanie Griffith (1, 2)

"Under Suspicion"
The full-frontal nudity in Under Suspicion is by Maggie O'Neill. Laura San Giacomo is topless but we only get a brief glimpse of her cleavage.

• Maggie O'Neill (1, 2)
• Laura San Giacomo (1, 2)

"Get Well Soon"
Courtney Cox hangs around in her underwear in Get Well Soon.

• Courtney Cox

"Carry On Matron"
Another in the ubiquitous series of Carry On films, Carry On Matron has nudity provided by Gilly Grant. Barbara Windsor shows lots of cleavage, as she always does.

• Gilly Grant (1, 2)
• Barbara Windsor (1, 2)

"Soft Beds, Hard Battles"
Continuing with the British sex comedies we have Soft Beds, Hard Battles. Set in a Parisian brothel during WWII, nudity is provided by Rula Lenska and Hylette Adolphe. Beatrice Romand, Gabriella Licudi, Daphne Lawson and Jenny Hanley provide the cheese cake.

• Rula Lenska (1, 2, 3)
• Hylette Adolphe (1, 2)
• Beatrice Romand
• Gabriella Licudi (1, 2)
• Daphne Lawson
• Jenny Hanley

"Don't Just Lie There, Say Something"
Finally, we have the worst of British with Don't Just Lie There, Say Something. Brief nudity by some unknowns and Anita Graham, with Joanna Lumley in her underwear and some interesting poses.

• Anita Graham (1, 2)
• Joanna Lumley (1, 2)
• Unknowns

Going back in time about 25+ years for today's batch of 'caps...

• Sirpa Lane, full frontal nudity in scenes from "La Jeune fille assassinée" aka "Charlotte" (1974) (1, 2)

• Stephanie Bechamin, excellent toplessness in "The Nightcomers" (1972) (1, 2, 3)

• Laura Antonelli in "Mogliamante" aka "Lover,Wife" (1977). Unfortunately, unlike her other movies, there is almost no nudity in this one, just a few frames with a sideview of her breast.