In a world where superhero fatigue has set in and box office woes have become commonplace, Hollywood is turning to an age-old formula to reignite the passion of moviegoers: desire. A wave of new films, from Richard Linklater's Hit Man to Luca Guadagnino's Challengers and Amazon's The Idea of You, are bringing sexy back to the big screen, reminding audiences of the importance and popularity of on-screen chemistry and illicit attraction.
Hit Man, a comedy that has garnered glowing reviews and heralded the emergence of Glen Powell as a true movie star, exemplifies this trend. The film's success largely hinges on the sizzling chemistry between Powell's Gary, a nerdy psychology professor moonlighting as an undercover impersonator of hired killers, and Adria Arjona's Madison, a potential client with whom he shares identity-incinerating sex. Hit Man knowingly plays with fantasy, invoking Hollywood's fascination with ruthless hired guns, screwball films, and erotic thrillers like Body Heat.
The mere suggestion of a threesome between tennis players Tashi, Zendaya, Art, Mike Faist, and Patrick, Josh O'Connor, in Challengers sent the internet into a frenzy upon release. Guadagnino's film luxuriates in the energy of desire, with characters dripping sweat and shots of stars' bodies in motion set to a club-ready score. While the movie may not depict explicit sex scenes, it captures the frenetic brew of tension that comes with long-simmering desire.
Similarly, Amazon's The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, is powered more by the imagination of illicit sex than its actual depiction. The film treats the whims of celebrity romance fantasy seriously, with Hathaway's mature and glamorous Solene drawing the attention of a much younger star. The Idea of You blends airport-novel breeziness with just enough edge, dispelling the myth of allegedly "post prime" women and offering a treat of longing stares and passionate kisses.
These films, along with others like Love Lies Bleeding and A Family Affair, suggest that Hollywood is trying to bring sexiness back to the big screen after years of relative sexlessness. While the attractions depicted may be illicit, they are not transgressive or explicit. Instead, these films aim for straightforward fun, courting a large, starved audience with their unabashedly horny premises.
The success of these films, both in terms of box office numbers and audience reactions, indicates that there is a movie-going public ready to buy into these depictions of sex. The small moments of charged intimacy in Challengers, for example, have become shared audience touchstones and memes, demonstrating that doing this level of arousal well is still a revelation.
While these films may not always succeed in titillation, their mere predication of desire feels like something to celebrate. By aiming for the ineffable and inexplicable feelings of attraction, these movies are fulfilling a basic job of cinema that has been lacking in recent years. As Hollywood continues to navigate the challenges of the current landscape, it seems that bringing sexy back may be a key to reigniting the passion of moviegoers.
