Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
Movie sex scenes are a time capsule of our evolving norms around relationships and consent. These 10 went out of bounds in alarming ways.
A master class in how not to direct sex scenes. Thirty-year-old director Bernardo Bertolucci and 48-year-old star Marlon Brando decided the morning of the movie’s most infamous sex scene to incorporate butter into it, but didn’t tell 19-year-old lead actress Maria Schneider about it until the cameras were rolling.
“I wanted her reaction as a girl, not as an actress,” Bertolucci, who died in 2018, later said. “I wanted her to react humiliated.” Schneider, who died in 2007, said she did indeed feel violated by the scene.
When the scene gained renewed scrutiny in 2016, Bertolucci clarified that Schneider was aware that the scene would be violent, and that it was in the script, but that the “the only novelty was the idea of the butter. … And that, as I learned many years later, offended Maria. Not the violence that she is subjected to in the scene, which was written in the screenplay.” He also clarified that the sex in the film is all simulated.
The recent Hulu documentary Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby catalogues the countless ways that Hollywood men sought to sexualize Shields from an early age. The film takes its title from Pretty Baby, the Louise Malle film based on a true case of a 12-year-old, raised in a brothel, and forced into exploitation by her mother.
The film sympathizes with Shields’ character, Violet, but raised understandable alarm because it shows Shields undressed. The film was deemed so problematic even by 1978 standards that it sparked countless articles debating its decency, and the British Board of Film Classification carefully debated whether it should be legal.
One dubious scene: a kiss between Shields, who was 11 at the time, and 28-year-old co-star David Carradine — though Shields said recently on The Drew Barrymore Show that Carradine was “gracious” and “protective” of her on set.
You could write whole articles about the problems with Revenge of the Nerds, and many people have, but one of the main ones is a scene in which nerds use hidden cameras to watch sorority women in various states of undress. It’s a felony, nerds.
The most troubling part of Revenge of the Nerds is a scene in which lead nerd Lewis (Robert Carradine), the supposed hero of the movie, wears a mask to trick a fellow student into believing he’s her boyfriend. After they have sex, she’s delighted by how good it was, which is the movie’s way of justifying the criminal deception. Terrible lessons all around.
Screenwriter Steve Zacharias has said he regrets both the mask scene and the hidden camera scene, and he removed them when he sat down to write a musical adaptation of the film.
Also Read: 12 Shameless ’80s Comedies That Just Don’t Care If You’re Offended
Sixteen Candles is another film in which the awfulness of a character’s behavior is compounded by the movie expecting us to like him. Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) is presented as the dream guy of our heroine, Samantha (Molly Ringwald). But at one point Jake passes off his unconscious girlfriend, Carloline (Haviland Morris), to another guy, Ted.
Jake tells Ted, “Have fun.” The next day, Caroline and the Ted conclude that they had sex. He asks if she enjoyed herself, and she says, “You know, I have this weird feeling I did,” which is the movie’s way of justifying the guys’ behavior.
Sharon Stone wrote in her memoir The Beauty of Living Twice that she was tricked into the most revealing scene in Basic Instinct by a crew member who told her she needed to remove her underwear because it was “reflecting the light.”
She said she was so shocked by the end result that she slapped director Paul Verhoeven and immediately called her lawyer — but that she eventually agreed to the release of the scene. Verhoeven later said Stone was a willing participant in the scene and “knew exactly what we were doing,” which she disputes.
Stone told the Table for Two podcast earlier this year that she lost custody of her child in a 2004 court case because of her role in the film.
“I lost custody of my child,” she said. “When the judge asked my child — my tiny little tiny boy — ‘Do you know your mother makes sex movies?’”
She lamented “this kind of abuse by the system… that I was considered what kind of parent I was because I made that movie.”
We don’t think depictions of bad behavior are endorsements of it, and Poison Ivy in no way suggests that there’s anything OK about the relationship between Ivy (played by a then-16-year-old Drew Barrymore) and her friend’s dad (a then-58-year-old Tom Skerritt).
The film wasn’t intended as gross exploitation — it even premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Director Katt Shea has said she and Skerritt were well aware of the potential problems inherent in the relationship between Ivy and the much older character, and that she was protective of Barrymore, using a body double for her in certain scenes.
Nonetheless, she said in 2022 interview with Yahoo: “I don’t think that movie would be made today, period.”
We can’t even type the name of this movie, based on the masterful Vladimir Nabakov novel, without freaking out internet censors. You can blame gross people who use it as a euphemism for despicable criminal conduct.
Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 adaptation of Navabov’s novel proved that you didn’t need to be explicit to tell the mortifyingly sad story of Humbert Humbert, who abducts and abuses his young stepdaughter, Dolores Haze, while lying to the audience and himself that it’s a consensual love affair instead of a serious of horrendous crimes.
Adrian Lyne’s 1997 version decided that relaxed standards in the 1990s would allow him to finally adapt Vladimir Nabakov’s novel without leaving things to the imagination — but his timing was very bad. During the making of the film, President Clinton just signed the Child Pornography Prevention Act, which banned depictions of sexual activity by minors. Though Lynn was using an adult body double for 15-year-old lead actress Dominique Swain, distributors were so spooked that the film debuted not in theaters, but on Showtime.
Lynn may have just gone about the whole thing wrong: Nabakov’s novel contains not a single dirty word. Kubrick’s adaptation was up to the challenge of adapting it, with similar restraint, and Lyne’s artistic endeavor felt unnecessary and misguided.
The film by Abdellatif Kechiche led a Cannes Film Festival jury to give the Palme d’Or prize to not only the director, but also his two lead actresses, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. But Seydoux said soon after that the long takes of intimate scenes were “kind of humiliating sometimes, I was feeling like a prostitute.”
Kechiche said of the critcism: “If Seydoux lived such a bad experience, why did she come to Cannes, try on robes and jewelery all day?” he said. “Is she an actress or an artist of the red carpet?” He also said the film shouldn’t be released, because it was too “sullied.” But it was released in the end.
The two stars of 1968′s Romeo and Juliet sued Paramount Pictures in 2023 for more than $500 million over a scene they shot as teenagers.
Olivia Hussey, who was 15 at the time and died last year at 73, and Leonard Whiting, then 16 and now 74, said director Franco Zeffirelli, who died in 2019, misled them by saying they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in an intimate scene, but informed them on the morning of the shoot that they would wear only body makeup.
A judge dismissed the case in May 2023, but Whiting and Hussey filed a second lawsuit against Paramount, claiming the studio had digitally redistributed the film without their permission.
Here’s a story about the Best Picture winner Anora, which features lots of sex scenes that were carefully communicated between director Sean Baker and the film’s actors.
You might also like this list of 12 Rad ’80s Movies Only Cool Kids Remember, featuring the sequel to Revenge of the Nerds.
Main image: Romeo and Juliet. Paramount Pictures.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
These shameless ’80s comedies had a rowdier sense of humor than the films of today. They didn’t worry if you were offended — they just wanted to make you laugh.
It will never stop amusing us that the guy who made Porky’s, the great director Bob Clark, also made A Christmas Story. (He also made the horror movie Black Christmas and the kids movie Baby Geniuses. Talk about range.)
Porky’s is one of those ’80s comedies that kids were often shielded from, which in retrospect makes sense: Though it was presented as a freewheeling comedy, it’s filled with weird humiliations, often of a sexual nature, and of course includes a peeping scene that doesn’t meet modern standards of consent.
But to call back A Christmas Story, Bob Clark didn’t give a fuuuuuuuuuuudge.
At one point, Dan Aykroyd disguises himself as a Jamaican. That isn’t great. And some people have objected to the scene where a gorilla takes a bad guy as his mate. Maybe that isn’t so funny in retrospect.
But other elements ofTrading Places are incredibly good, including the film’s very smart take on nature vs. nurture, and its smart observations about all the assumptions our society makes about who deserves to be rich.
We love it’s then-modern update on the screwball comedies of the 1930s, and Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis are all extremely good. It’s one of our favorite ’80s comedies.
John Cusack plays Lane Meyer, a teenager who attempts, repeatedly, to remove himself from this earth after he’s dumped by his girlfriend, Beth Truss (Amanda Wyss) for cocky blonde guy Roy Stalin (Aaron Dozier).
The whole plot would never fly today, nor the slapstick jokes around a teenage boy trying to end himself. But the entire movie is such masterful absurdist comedy that no thinking person could possibly take it seriously.
Also, like many of the movies of the time, it features some dicey Asian characters, but at least they’re good at racing and have girlfriends. We’d say they’re much cooler, at least by high school standards, than poor Lane is.
Finally, Diane Franklin (above, with Cusack) is excellent as Monique, a notably smart, capable and cool dream girl. So there’s that. This is maybe the most ’80s of all ’80s comedies.
The whole setup of this dark screwball comedy will feel a tad misogynistic to some: Steve Martin plays a mad neurosurgeon, Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr, who falls in love with femme fatale Dolores Benedict (Kathleen Turner), then builds up resentment as she declines to consummate their marriage.
Meanwhile, he falls in love with a disembodied brain, Anne (voiced by Sissy Spacek) and begins searching for a body in which to house her. Along the way, he roots for one attractive woman to die, and ponders killing another. It all crescendoes in a joke at the expense of compulsive eaters.
It’s not in the same league as The Jerk, a previous collaboration between Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner, but it has some very funny scenes.
Heathers is the most pitch black of ’80s comedies, and embodies fatalistic Gen X cool. It was written by Daniel Waters as a kind of counter-point to the generally sunnier John Hughes comedies of the day.
The film stars Christian Slater as a charismatic teen lunatic who enlists popular girl Veronica in his plot to start offing popular kids, and staging things to make it look like they did themselves in — enlisting nefarious props like mineral water to makethe crime scenes more convincing.
Remember, this was the ’80s, when the idea of deadly suburban high-school kids seemed hilariously absurd. A recent attempt to revive Heathers as a TV series was delayed and derailed by multiple incidents of real-life school violence that may the idea seem very unfunny to modern viewers.
There’s something to offend everyone in the brilliant comic grotesquerie of Coming to America, a movie that goes after almost every demographic but respects all variety of hustles. Eddie Murphy takes the Richard Pryor trick of playing several characters in the same scene and, with the help of make-up, perfects it.
Coming to America has countless jokes that young, modern audiences may find shocking, but hey: They were also shocking when the movie came out. Eddie Murphy and his collaborators just didn’t care. They wanted hard laughs, and they got them.
Airplane is loaded with questionable jokes, including June Cleaver herself speaking jive. It’s deeply inappropriate — and also one of the funniest things that has ever happened in a movie.
Kudos to David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker — synonymous with ’80s comedies — for coming up with the idea of Barbara Billingsley delivering the line, “Oh stewardess? I speak jive.” And also for the 7,000 other great jokes in Airplane, one of the all-time greatest comedies that don’t care if you’re offended.
The ZAZ team also came up with two more of the all-time great comedies on this list.
“When we do screenings of Airplane! we get the question if we could do Airplane! today,” David Zucker, one-third of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker trio, recently said in an interview with PragerU. “The first thing I could think of was, ‘Sure, just without the jokes.’”
He also complained that modern Hollywood is “destroying comedy because of nine percent of the people who don’t have a sense of humor.”
This film, the second Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker classic on our list, features muscle-bound, gun-totin’ Black French character named Chocolate Mousse. At one point a bad guy is mounted by a bull. An extreme facial disfigurement gets one of the movie’s biggest laughs.
Top Secret is also, for our money, maybe the funniest movie ever made: It’s an absurdist caper that crosses a Cold War spy thriller with an Elvis movie, with perfectly orchestrated sight gags that get better with ever watch. The backward bookshop scene? Mesmerizing.
Top Secret also includes one of the all-time best jokes of ’80s comedies: “My uncle was born in America. But he was one of the lucky ones. He managed to escape in a balloon during the Jimmy Carter presidency.” That’s a great setup and payoff, whatever your politics.
The final Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker film on our list, The Naked Gun features a dizzying, hilarious array of risque jokes, all of which are terrific. The building statues sequence is a standout.
It’s also the only film on this list to co-star a man once accused of double homicide — a rarity among ’80s comedies.
No one is apologizing.
John Hughes’ Sixteen Candles has gotten a lot of criticism, in retrospect, for the stereotypical Long Duk Dong character (played by Gedde Watanabe) and a scene that makes Anthony Michael Hall’s character seem predatory, in retrospect.
Watanabe told NPR in 2008 that he was a “a bit naive” about taking on the role of Long Duk, though he still has affection for him.
As for the other thing: Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling), who is presented as the dream guy of our heroine, Samantha (Molly Ringwald), passes off his unconscious girlfriend, Caroline (Haviland Morris), to another guy, Ted (Anthony Michael Hall, with Morris, above). Jake tells Ted, “Have fun.”
The next day, Caroline and the Ted conclude that they had sex. He asks if she enjoyed herself, and she says, “You know, I have this weird feeling I did,” which is the movie’s way of justifying the guys’ behavior.
Fast Times is the one of those ’80s comedies that is may be more offensive to religious conservatives than people on the left, because it takes the side of a high school student, Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh, above right, with Phoebe Cates), who has an abortion after a smooth talker gets her pregnant and then turns out to be a worthless deadbeat.
Like Porky’s, this was one of those movies that kids in school yards spoke of in whispers — as one of those ’80s comedies that parents definitely didn’t want them to see.
It may have just been because of the famous Phoebe Cates pool fantasy sequence, but we don’t think so. The movie’s presentation of teen realities was a much bigger threat to the Moral Majority, the religious fundamentalists who thrived through the 1980s.
You might also like these two ’80s lists: The Best Cocky Blond Guys in ’80s Movies, and the Best Cute Brunette Friends in ’80s Movies.
You might also like this list of 12 Rad ’80s Movies Only Cool Kids Remember, featuring quite a few ’80s comedies.
Main image: Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Pursuing meaningful relationships has gone beyond local borders in today’s globalized world. Increasingly, Western men seek physical beauty, shared values, mutual respect, and long-term emotional compatibility. Among the most popular choices? Ukrainian women. But what makes these women so distinct — and why has the interest grown so significantly in recent years?
This article examines the social, cultural, and personal dynamics behind the trend and explores how modern platforms make these connections more authentic than ever before.
One of the primary reasons Western men are interested in dating Ukrainian women is cultural compatibility — not in the sense of similarity, but in terms of complementary values.
Many Western societies have seen a shift toward casual relationships and delayed commitment. While this works for some, a growing number of men feel alienated by this trend. Ukrainian women often represent a contrast: they value long-term commitment, family, and emotional investment. These qualities aren’t just personal — they’re part of a cultural upbringing that prioritizes emotional depth over fleeting connections.
💡 “In Ukraine, relationships are built to last. Even when dating, women consider how the partnership might evolve over time.”
Ukrainian women grow up in a society shaped by history, resilience, and community. They’re often raised in multigenerational households, where caring for others is not just a habit — it’s a life principle.
This background instills a level of emotional intelligence and maturity that many Western men find refreshing. It’s not uncommon to find women who are highly educated, speak multiple languages, and are well-traveled — yet still grounded in traditional values.
Discover more about how Ukrainian women’s upbringing shapes their approach to relationships on LuluDate.com — a platform designed to bridge Western and Eastern perspectives.
Let’s face it—modern online dating can feel like a digital minefield. With bots, fake profiles, and shallow swiping… it’s no wonder many people feel disillusioned.
This is where verified platforms like LuluDate stand out. Every woman’s profile is checked for authenticity, and most users are actively looking for serious relationships, not casual hookups.
When you browse Ukrainian brides profiles, you’ll find real people with real stories. Many profiles include personal videos, lifestyle photos, and detailed insights about goals and expectations.
🔍 “LuluDate isn’t just a website — it’s a community where transparency is the standard.”
There are still a few outdated stereotypes about Eastern European dating — particularly around the concept of “mail order brides.” In reality, today’s platforms have little in common with the exploitative systems of the past.
Modern services like LuluDate empower women just as much as men. Ukrainian women sign up because they want to meet someone who appreciates their values and offers mutual respect — not because they’re desperate or passive.
Many of them are professionals — doctors, engineers, designers — who speak fluent English and are looking for intellectual and emotional compatibility.
Another fascinating aspect is how love across cultures enriches both partners. Dating someone from a different country brings a chance to explore new traditions, perspectives, and ways of living.
Ukrainian culture is rich in music, food, family traditions, and festivals. Imagine being introduced to Maslenitsa, homemade borscht, or learning how to make pampushky (garlic bread rolls). When both sides are open to learning, cultural exchange becomes a bridge rather than a barrier.
❤️ “At LuluDate, intercultural understanding is part of the mission. It’s not just about dating — it’s about expanding your worldview.”
If you’re new to international dating, it may feel overwhelming. But platforms like LuluDate simplify the process:
The key is to be respectful, patient, and genuinely curious about your potential match’s culture and background.
Want to meet women who value loyalty, family, and culture? Start on LuluDate — where real relationships begin.
Connecting with Ukrainian women offers a refreshing alternative for Western men who feel out of sync with the local dating scene. It’s not about idealizing one culture over another — finding compatibility, intention, and a desire to build something lasting.
LuluDate enables that journey by creating a space where authenticity, culture, and love intersect. Whether searching for a deep connection, a lifelong partnership, or a new perspective, your story might just start here.
✨ Explore Ukrainian brides profiles and discover a world of real connection.
Are you feeling overwhelmed trying to figure out how to pass the AGNP certification exam? If you’re feeling overwhelmed about passing the AGNP certification exam, you’re not alone.
Many future nurse practitioners feel unsure about where to start. This guide will give you clear steps to help you study smarter, not harder. You’ll find tips that make your study time count and keep you on track.
Whether you’re just starting or need a final boost, this article is for you. Let’s break it down, one simple step at a time.
Good study materials help you stay focused. Use trusted textbooks that cover the topics tested on the exam. Online resources and apps also support your learning.
Textbooks deepen your understanding of clinical topics, while online practice questions familiarize you with the test format.
To build a solid foundation, it’s important to use a mix of resources that reflect real exam content. Using this approach will help you stay focused and identify weak areas-this will help you master the FNP/AGNP exams.
Planning your study time helps you stay on track. Break your study time into weeks so you can focus on different topics. Set daily goals that are easy to follow.
Start with a general review of all topics. Then spend time on areas that are harder for you. Save the last part of your plan for full practice tests.
Practice questions help you learn how the test is written. Flashcards are a good way to review terms and facts. Teaching what you know helps make the ideas stick.
Try to take short tests without looking at notes. Keep track of questions you miss so you can review them later. Use your notes to check what you still need to learn.
Some topics show up more often on the exam. Focus your studies on critical areas like patient care, disease prevention, and common health issues. Learning about medicine safety is also important.
Understand how to evaluate and manage both short- and long-term conditions, and learn how to diagnose by interpreting patient signs and history. Study your scope of practice and rules for ethical care.
Rest enhances brain function; ensure you get enough sleep while studying and eat energy-boosting meals. Short breaks during long study times can help you stay fresh. Moving your body can lower stress and improve memory.
Your health matters during test prep. A balanced routine supports focus, memory, and energy. Make self-care part of your daily schedule.
Make sure you know the rules for your test day. If your exam is online, test your internet and camera ahead of time. If it’s at a test center, know where to go and what to bring.
Remember to bring your ID and check in early-these steps are crucial for a smooth exam experience. Follow the steps given by the test staff. Take deep breaths and stay calm before you begin.
Success on the AGNP exam doesn’t come from luck. It comes from consistent effort, good materials, and smart study habits. With the right mindset and tools, you’ll be ready for the challenge.
Have faith in your ability to grow and succeed; each hour of study brings you closer to your goal.
Did you learn something new from this article? If so, be sure to check out our blog for more educational content.
