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We’ve arrived at the bitter end. Torie and returning special guests Chelsey Morin and Thien-Y Hoang make their final trip to the 50 shades of garbage dump searching for anything of substance in the final installment of this trash film trilogy. Alas, 50 SHADES FREED proves the third time is not the charm.    Sulky sub Anastasia Steele and Dom daddy Christian Grey tie the knot (figuratively, not literally, this time). Their marital bliss is soon interrupted by Ana’s former misogynist boss, Jack, and his desire for vengeance against Christian, which still doesn't make sense, as well as a certain unplanned you-know-what that drives a wedge between Ana and Christian, who proves, even after three insufferable movies, that he remains an unhinged, narcissistic a**hole.       What ensues is two hours of blatant misogyny, buttplug pleasures, adventures on the Aspen club scene, painfully asinine car chases, a kidnapping of Rita Ora, a profoundly obnoxious performance of ”Maybe I’m Amazed,” and the confounding absence of a prenup. And through it all, like some absurd monument to early 00s mallboi masculinity, are Christian’s cherished pair of Hollister Men’s jeans.  

SPOILER WARNING: This episode contains spoilers through the season finale of Heated Rivalry. With the conclusion of Season 1, all us HR fans are sitting and processing our thoughts and feelings about the sleekly operatic, often playful, heart-throbbing, and ingeniously sincere story we just witnessed. Think pieces are bounteous across the editorial planes and the feelings are REAL. Torie and Billy discuss what Heated Rivalry means to each of them, and the deeper societal meaning around the whirlwind impact of this miraculous show.

*Note to the listeners*- For the most pleasurable listening experience, lube up with our January 2024 episode covering Sarah Drew’s A Cowboy Christmas Romance before you tune in. — We’re returning to the 50 Shades of garbage dump soon, but in light of this festive season, SITC all-star guest star, Cecilia Conti, joins Torie to incinerate the most recent(ish) installment of sugar & spice from Limetime™’s own formula-disrupting vixen, Sarah Drew.  Her Cowboy-themed roll in the hay, A Cowboy Christmas Romance, made history as the first Lifetime™ holiday film to feature a “sex scene.” Sarah Drew is back with her sophomore feature that puts the WOOD in woodworking: A CARPENTER CHRISTMAS ROMANCE (2024).   This explicitly My So Called Life-coded narrative follows nerdy(ish) romantasy writer Andrea back to her sort-of hometown, Wildwood, for an unplugged Christmas stay due to a scandalous leak of the final book in her stupid series. To her surprise, she reconnects with Seth, her old, Jordan Catelano-esque but née jock crush, Seth. Complications arise with the presence of Seth’s tenant, Aiko, and her cloying children. Is Seth still a f**kboi or is he a nice guy now?   

SPOILER WARNING: This episode contains spoilers through episode 4 of HEATED RIVALRY   Reference Links: The Rite of Spring: Joffrey Ballet 1987 Rite of Spring (1 of 3) Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun: L'Apres-midi d'un Faune Ballet performed by the Joffrey Ballet

Torie and special guests Chelsey Morin and Thien-Y Hoang return to the 50 Shades of Grey garbage dump for the second installment in this stinking landfill of a film franchise, 50 SHADES DARKER. Don't bother to bring a shovel. After being broken up for 2.5 seconds, newly deflowered Anastasia Steele and hunky millionaire Dom Christian Grey rekindle their love and get into a full-on relationship. As their "intimacy" grows, Anastasia learns more about Christian's dark past and meets some of the (many) skeletons in his closet. What ensues is two hours of even more sociopathic behavior, somewhat less sexy "S&M" sex scenes, a dash of gun violence, a lavish masked ball fundraiser, a pair of Ben Wa balls, even more Hollister men's jeans, poor restaurant etiquette, workplace sexual harassment, and more. We also meet a less-than-colorful cast of new characters, including Christian's former Mommy Dom "Mrs. Robinson," played by Kim Basinger, Anna's misogynistic new boss, Jack Hyde, and one of Christian's former pets/hostages, Leila.  

Welcome back, cinephiles and perverts, and welcome to Season Two of Sex in the Cinema!!! To kick off Season Two, Torie is joined by Angelenos and expert hate-watchers Chelsey Morin and Thien-Y Hoang to demolish the cultural phenomenon that was the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy. From its humble beginnings in a Twilight fanfiction forum, to the published printed page, all the way to the silver screen, this gross disservice to the kink community turned on the world. For SITC’s Season Two Premiere, we’re tackling the first installment of the trilogy, 50 SHADES OF GREY. Released in 2015 and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (wife of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, mind you), this film launched the careers of usually good actors Dakota Johnson and Jaimie Dornan.   Mousy brunette super-virgin Anastasia Steele’s simple life turns upside down when she meets sexy billionaire (and apparent Never Nude), Christian Grey. Anastasia soon finds out Christian doesn’t do relationships, but he does enjoy “various physical pursuits.” Namely, kidnapping women and coercing them into dom/sub relationships of very questionable ethics.   What ensues is two hours of sociopathic behavior, painful lack of chemistry, horrifically awful dialogue, NDAs and contracts, too many needle drops, countless glasses of unconsumed white wine, mostly vanilla sex, an apparent proclivity for Hollister men’s jeans, a dusting of taboo slap & tickle, one impressive den of iniquity set, and wayyyyyy too many red flags.    So bust out those handcuffs and settle in for the long haul because, in the words of Christian Grey, there’s “no escaping now…”

Fasten your seatbelts, cinephiles, because it’s SITC’s Season 1 Finale! Thanks to a few renegade, paintbrush-wielding perverts from New Hollywood’s anarchic yesteryear, you’re in for a full 411 on some of the most disturbing, disruptive, and innovative works of sketch-to-celluloid since Mickey Mouse first wet his wittle whistle in Steamboat Willie. As of this episode, your childhood nostalgia for Saturday morning cartoons is OVER.  Bored with the pretentious loftiness of his collegiate education, a privileged cat named Fritz acts like an ignorant a**hole who thinks he’s an anarchist in one of the most enduring masterworks of guerrilla satire, FRITZ THE CAT (1972). Don Jurwich, legendary heavyweight at Hanna-Barbera and Marvel Productions (this is not a joke), subverts your favorite fairy tales into gonzo softcore parables that will haunt you for the rest of your life (also not a joke) in the bombastic, cheeky ONCE UPON A GIRL (1976). A peasant woman’s quest for social and sexual freedom is manifested through tragedy, rupture, and rebirth in Eiichi Yamamoto’s kaleidoscopic, transcendent epic, BELLADONNA OF SADNESS (1973).  

Friend of the pod and glamor-trash gay man-about-town Billy Weston joins Torie and Maggie to unpack three of the sexiest, messiest, and most titillatingly trashy erotic thrillers of the 1990s.
 Jessie Spano trades textbooks for stripper poles to dance her way through a 24/7, nipple tweaking tantrum in Paul Verhoeven's infamous, eternally iconic TRASHterpiece, SHOWGIRLS (1995). Neve Campbell and Denise Richards, whose aquatic escapades inaugurated a million Millennial boners, continue to masterfully mindf**k us in WILD THINGS (1998). Sick of bad sex and surmised of murder, smoky siren Linda Fiorentino is suspected by CSI's OG sunglasses guy, David Caruso, in William Friedkin's convoluted, surprisingly sterile flop, JADE (1995).

UPDATE, MAY 2025: This is a re-release of our premiere episode originally published on 8/9/23. As of May 2025, actor Michael Pitt was indicted for horrific sexual and physical abuse suffered by one or more partners. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.   -- Torie and Maggie dive into cinematic rarity of films bold enough to tackle the taboo of full frontal male nudity. Torie has difficulty separating the art from the artist with Vincent Gallo's THE BROWN BUNNY (2003) whereas Maggie mines empathy for toxic masculinity. We celebrate the wonder of prosthetics in Paul Thomas Anderson's BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997), talk twincest (and the double D showcase) in Bernardo Bertolucci's THE DREAMERS (2003), and tackle the ever-burning question - does size really matter? --- UPDATE, MAY 2025: This episode features some panty creaming for actor Michael Pitt, who as of May 2025, was indicted for horrific sexual and physical abuse suffered by one or more partners. At the time of this episode's publication in August 2023, Michael Pitt had history of bizarre explosive behavior spurts like many talented actors ("perhaps the sexy sad boy has untreated mental illness! or addiction! hopefully he figures it out!") but in light of these allegations, his SITC Hall Pass is now officially revoked. We will continue to do our best to separate the art from the artist but unconscionable acts should not be disregarded. We stand with the victims. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.  

SITC is back in the studio with this long-awaited episode covering the softcore juggernaut that is the Emmanuelle film franchise!  Expert Bryan Connolly joins Torie to dissect this smutty phenomenon which is SO expansive and SO diverse, it's basically an ecosystem. From Thailand to Africa, to Outer Space, Emmanuelle knows no bounds. In the original EMMANUELLE (1974) starring Sylvia Kristel, we watch Emmanuelle the girl become Emmanuelle the woman thanks to a few trips to the Mile High Club and guidance from a mansplaining creep named Mario. We take a detour outside of official Emmanuelle "canon" with EMANUELLE AND THE WHITE SLAVE TRADE (1978), one of the many (and one of the best) ripoffs that make up the multifaceted Emmanuelle universe. Starring Laura Gemser, Emanuelle with One M is a slick and ambitious journalist with the savvy and sexual appetite to rival James Bond. We conclude our journey with the first installment of Emmanuelle's Skinemax/ straight-to-video era, EMMANUELLE: FIRST CONTACT (1994). Starring Krista Allen, Emmanuelle takes her sage-like knowledge of sex to outer space where she educates hunky alien Haffron and his brethren about the joys and politics of human sexuality.    — Bryan Connolly is a writer and filmmaker in Austin, TX. Thanks to a lifelong obsession with the Emmanuelle films, his encyclopedic knowledge has cemented him as a de-facto Emmanuelle expert. Bryan has contributed to Severin Films' Black Emanuelle Box Set, the Emmanuelle comic book series from Fantagraphics, and is currently writing a colossal tome covering every Emmanuelle movie ever made. Bryan's cinema expertise also extends well beyond the boundaries of Emmanuelle. He is the co-host of the podcast The Directors Wall alongside A.J. Gonzalez, the author of Destroy All Movies: The Complete History of Punks on Film, a feature filmmaker, and much more.  LINKS! Listen to The Directors Wall podcast here! Check out Bryan's feature film MAKE POPULAR MOVIES free on Tubi here! Snag a copy of Bryan's book Destroy All Movies: The Complete History of Punks on Film on eBay for a mint here!

Torie and Maggie go full-on Siskel and Ebert for this special episode reviewing Nicole Kidman's latest in a series of steamy, psychosexual cinematic narratives, BABYGIRL. Torie hated it and Maggie loved it but both ladies agree this flick with a feminist bent made a valuable contribution to the conversation around women, age and sexuality (aka debunking the myth that women become sexless empty vessels as soon as the baby farm closes).    PS - follow Torie on Letterboxd @Torie88 !!

Awards season is here is SITC is kicking off 2025 with our inaugural *AFTERGLOW AWARDS*!! With winners selected from the pool of every film covered on SITC to date, all winners of these prestigious awards have been carefully chosen by an esteemed panel of two (aka us). We also go into some long tangents around NOSFERATU, THE BRUTALIST, and movie theater hot dogs.   Check out the categories below and tune in to reveal the winners of ! - Best Sex Scene in a Motion Picture Hottest Actor in a Motion Picture Hottest Actress in a Motion Picture Hottest Couple in a Motion Picture Best Unconventionally Hot Sex Scene in a Motion Picture Best WTF Unsexy Scene in a Motion Picture Best Masturbation in a Motion Picture Best Full Frontal in a Motion Picture Best Orgasm in a Motion Picture Sexiest Sound in a Motion Picture

Happy Yule, cinephile freaks! This holiday season we're celebrating the Winter Solstice in this very special episode starring wonton, willful and wonderful witches! Self help goes lethally awry in Anna Biller's ingenious meta-Technicolor treasure THE LOVE WITCH (2016). Sexploitation is style over substance in the VIRGIN WITCH (1972). Cinematic art finds a new masterstroke in the haunting, enigmatic (and f**king awesome) folk horror fable HAGAZUSSA (2017).     

Trigger Warning: Please be advised this episode includes explicit discussion of sexual abuse and assault. This is a really tough one so tune out and take care if you need to 3  For the penultimate episode of 2024, we're kicking off our mini director retrospective series. Our first entry delves into modern cinema's ultimate Master of Macabre, David Lynch.  Baby talk reaches a new level of unacceptable foreplay in BLUE VELVET (1986). Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern burn hot in WILD AT HEART (1990). Naomi Watts has the ultimate career breakout role in the dreamlike hate letter to Hollywood, MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001).  

SITC is back with a new installment of Uncut and Unrated - extended "director's cuts" of some of our favorite episodes. FRATBOY F**KERY, our episode discussing a trio of "boys will be boys" blockbusters, returns to manspread its dick tentacles all over the airwaves. The original cut of this episode was released in April 2024 but the collective ethos of these misogynistic trash fires is now distinctly timely.  Tune in for previously unreleased deep cuts about Doug Kenney and the birth of The National Lampoon, another cringeworthy tale about Torie's adolescent pervy playacting, and much more.  Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for all-new episodes including the first installment of our Director Retrospective series and our upcumming holiday special! --- Trigger warning: this episode discusses themes of sexual and verbal assault, rape, and body shaming. Welcome to the black hole of misogyny where "boys will be boys" and fratboy mentality reigned supreme to brainwash multiple generations.   Torie struggles to kill her darlings in the National Lampoon classic ANIMAL HOUSE (1978). Kim Cattrall is the only saving grace in the postulating butt boil that is PORKY'S (1981). Witness the birth of virtual assault and revenge porn in the generation-defining Y2K flick, AMERICAN PIE (1999).