Memorable Love Scenes: Risky Business

 

Movie poster via IMDB.com

This week I'm taking a bit of a break from the normal blogging schedule. I've just wrapped up teaching an online class on writing love scenes. And one of the things I asked students to do was name love scenes from movies or books that stood out in their memory. The point of the exercise was to look at those scenes and see WHY they were memorable. What did the storyteller do to make them so impression-making?

So this week, I'm going to post some of the examples we used so that you can break them down too. (Or if you're not a writer, just sit back and enjoy the smexiness.)

First on the agenda is Risky Business and the smoking hot scene on the train. (This doesn't have nudity but isn't exactly safe for work either.) This is an example of using a unique setting to your advantage.

 

 

 

 

 

Hot, right? So why is this scene memorable? Is it simply the location, the chance of someone discovering them? Is it the tension built up before this? Or is it because the moment is tranformative for the characters? Or is it just because it's a young Tom Cruise and Rebecca DeMornay?

The Movie You Wish You Could've Seen on the Big Screen

 

Photo via Endless Inspiration

Hope everyone had a great weekend. And happy belated Father's Day to any of you dads out there. : )

So, if any of you have hung around here for a while, you probably know that my favorite movie of all time is Dirty Dancing. In fact, I credit that movie with planting the seed that would eventually grow me into a romance writer. But even though it's my most fave movie ever, I'd never seen it on the big screen. When it came out, I was pretty young (too young to even know what most of the stuff in the movie was except the dancing), so I only saw it on video probably a year after it came out.

Then last week, I found out that my local theater was showing Dirty Dancing on the big screen one night only and for only a dollar. How awesome is that? So of course, I emailed my friend Jamie Wesley, an equally die hard fan to go with me.

It was so much fun to see the movie in all its full screen glory. The theater was sold out and more than one of us were lipsyncing lines and the songs. And of course there was clapping for "I carried a watermelon" and "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." And I think my movie date (I'm looking at you, Jamie) may have recited the entire monologue of  Baby's "I did it for nothing?!" speech.

A good time was had by all. : ) I think the theater is doing Sixteen Candles like this soon too, so I'm going to try to go to that one as well. LOVE that movie. And it's another I've never seen on the big screen.

This weekend I also managed to finish one book and read another short novella (novelette?). And as always, when I enjoy something I want to pass it on. Here's what I read:

Blurb:

A friend’s duty. 

Tyler Murphy was an LAPD detective, single and happy—until a near-fatal tragedy crippled his friend, fellow detective Eric Catalano. While Tyler supported Eric, he also became a shoulder for Eric’s wife, Delaney, to lean on. But with one naughty suggestion from Eric, a drunken night with Delaney spilled into erotic abandon. Before it was over, Tyler saw his best friend’s wife as a woman and yearned for more. When Eric struggled to deal with the aftermath, Delaney begged Tyler to leave. Crushed, he fled to Louisiana, hoping to escape his longing for the one woman he could never have again…and unaware of what he’d left behind. 

A lover’s desire. 

After two years of living with regret, Tyler finds Delaney on his doorstep, her husband having abandoned her long ago. She’s protecting a shocking secret and desperately needs refuge from a stalker determined to see her dead. As they fight to stay alive and catch the killer, they struggle to resolve the guilt of their past pleasures. But they can’t deny that what was once a spark is now a flame burning out of control. To possess Delaney—body and soul—Tyler must heal her pain and thwart the evil that’s a mere breath behind her…

I always love Shayla's books. If you haven't read her Wicked Lovers series, definitely check them out. This one is far along in the series but can stand alone. If you want to start from the beginning, Wicked Ties is the first one.

And then I also read this short little novella--Restraint by Charlotte Stein. It was funny and awkward and sexy all at the same time. The cover is a little...retro, but don't let that scare you off. :)

Blurb:

Marnie Lewis is certain that one of her friends – handsome but awkward Brandon – hates her guts. The last thing she wants to do is go on a luscious weekend away with him and a few other buddies, to a cabin in the woods. But when she catches Brandon doing something very dirty after a night spent listening to her relate some of her sexcapades to everyone, she can’t resist pushing his buttons a little harder. He might seem like a prude, but Marnie suspects he likes a little dirty talk. And Marnie has no problems inciting his long dormant desires.

Good books and good movies. I'd say that was an all around awesome week. :)

So tell me, what movie do you wish you could see on the big screen?

Shameless Saturday: Saved By the Bell Greatness #atozchallenge

 This week I heard "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" on Pandora and I tweeted that it always reminds me of the break-up scene on Saved by the Bell. So, of course, I had to go look up the clip. I remember how the Kelly - Zack break up just about killed me as a kid, but wow, I definitely didn't remember how truly melodramatic the acting was, lol. I don't care. It still holds a special place in my psyche. :)  Zack + Kelly 4 Ever ;)

 

And then of course the most famous and melodramatic scene of Saved by the Bell history. Even at ten, I knew this one was a bit over the top. The imfamous caffeine pills...

Ah, that one just takes me back. I can go up to anyone in my age range and say "I'm so excited, I'm so...scared" and they know what I mean. 

Hope you enjoy your Saturday! :)