Movie fan that I am, I came across this article in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal ("Kissing and Telling" - January 5-6, 2008) reviewing a book about memorable kisses committed to celluloid in the history of Hollywood. Think Scarlett and Rhett, Rick and Ilsa, Rocky and Adrian - you get the picture. However, there's no mention in the story about any gay portrayals or any from animated films, although clearly the focus is on older, iconic movies rather than a balance of classic and modern films.
For me, I'm always glad to see one of my favorite cult movies so prominently featured in the mainstream press:
The most conspicuous omission for me -- though inconspicuous, too, since the film remains relatively unknown to American audiences -- is an intensely erotic and brilliantly comic egg-in-your-face kiss in "Tampopo," the 1986 Japanese-language comedy by Juzo Itami. "Tampopo" is the funniest film ever made about food and sex (and film genres), and the payoff of a scene in a fancy hotel room is a 45-second kiss during which a Yakuza smoothie and his girlfriend pass a raw egg yolk from mouth to mouth -- seven times before the yolk breaks. It's a foodie's dream of heavenly bliss.
If you're a fan of food, sex or Japanese comedy, you owe it to yourself to check out this film (if you can find it). If you're not a fan of any of the above, then go back to whatever planet you came from and stop reading my blog!
