DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

The audio commentary track to Something’s Gotta Give, the recent comedy with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, answers a question I’ve wondered about since I was 17 and legally able to watch R-rated movies: how do male actors control their erections during sex scenes?

I mean, maybe I’m abnormal, but if I’m naked under the sheets with an actress, and she’s naked, and we’re “pretending” to fondle each other, I’d be sprouting wood like a bamboo forest.

Are actors picturing something non-stimulating, like their grandmothers or Nicole Kidman? Does the presence of 100 stagehands and extras dull the sensation of hot nekkid flesh? Have they tied themselves down so as not to betray natural impulses?

The answers, according to Jack Nicholson, are no, no, and no. Respectively.

The following exchange concerns the scene pictured above. Nicholson’s character is about to get it on with Amanda Peet’s character. (She’s the one on top.) The commentary track features Nicholson and Nancy Meyers, the writer and director of the film.

Jack: I miss what you edited at the end of this particular scene, here.

Nancy: You mean where you sat up in your underwear?

Jack: Yeah, with a huge, you know…

Nancy: [laughs] That’s why it’s not in the movie, Jack.

I like this one a lot. It seems more intelligent and less cute than most romantic comedies. And the acting, as far as I can tell, is really wonderful.