I just feel like I’m intruding on a private moment and just sit there tense and embarrassed until it’s over. Trying not to listen to the schlorp schlorp noises.
But it’s such a common trope, I so assume I’m in some weird minority.
Does anyone find it enjoyable to watch? If so, why and how?
My partner is asexual and hates these scenes.
Being very much not asexual, I too hate these scenes.Your partner is an amoeba?
Very rarely. Physical intimacy in movies or TV is like a strong seasoning. In the right place, it can accentuate the flavor and bring it to another level. Otherwise, you’re just adding curry powder to a cherry danish.
I’m ok with them. What really bores me in movies are the fighting scenes near the end of the movie, when they encounter the bad guys. They share fists in each other’s faces for a good 10 minutes until one of them decides to go down. I usually skip forward. 1 minute fight scenes should be enough.
I always feel like I’m in the minority when it comes to action sequences. They are 80% of the time the most boring part of a movie. Plot and character development don’t happen during them, and usually (especially for the big climactic fight scene) the outcome is certain.
For me, the only exceptions are generally:
Fights that the heroes might actually lose. (So usually, the fights earlier in the show)
Fights where there are good character moments or development during it. (The Princess Bride sword fight scene is a classic for this)
Fights with lots of good strategy/tactics in them. (Game of Thrones had a lot of this, at least prior to the last season)
There are a very few fight scenes I’ll actually enjoy outside of these ones, and it feels like many action movies don’t bother with any of this.
I do, but only if it’s built up properly. This is also true of musical numbers and fight scenes. If built up properly, they can be incredibly cathartic and the best parts of the film, but if not, they grind the plot to a halt.
The reason so many people hate these kinds of scenes is that most screenwriters are really bad at creating tension. The purpose of these scenes is to release emotional tension, so without building this, they feel pointless and jarring. The best parody of this is in Men in Tights when Robin bursts into a love song out of nowhere and it scares the hell out of Marian.
I’m trying to provide examples of love scenes I actually like in films, and to be honest, I’m coming up blank. I think it may just be a lot more difficult to generate romantic tension in the average timespan of a film. It’s easier in television, where you get more time to tell the story. I think my favorite intimate scene in tv is in Game of Thrones season 3 when John and Ygritte are in the cave.
