Our parents often help us discover movies, share their insights, and teach us about directors and film genres, significantly influencing our cultural tastes as we grow up.
But what’s depicted in certain movies can be truly awkward to watch on the couch alongside your parents, for many different reasons — mostly of a sexual nature (do you really want to open Pandora’s box on sexuality during a chill evening with your parents?). After all, they know you’re an adult and most likely engaging in these activities, even if you believe/hope/pray (all the above?) they don’t.
So, since there are plenty of great movies out there, here’s a selection of films you shouldn’t watch with your parents. You can thank us later.
10 Movies Not to Watch with Your Parents
American Pie
The saga, filled with teenager drama and steamy scenes, is one of the most unwavering “no’s” you should utter if a parent suggests having a laugh together. We guarantee: it won’t happen. While they watch the TV in shock, you’ll be sinking into your seat.
50 Shades of Grey
Does anyone really think about watching Jamie Dornan (or Dakota Johnson) playing with whips and various gadgets, half-naked, alongside their mom or dad? It’s a shiver of disapproval.
Nymphomaniac (and, all Lars Von Trier films)
Nymphomaniac may be the highlight of Von Trier’s film career, but Antichrist, with its shocking physical violence, or Dancer In The Dark, known for its emotional intensity, are no laughing matter either.
It’s no secret that Von Trier is a director who loves to shake up his audience. So if you really want to indulge in his work, do it alone.
Besides, if you watch it with your parents and aren’t as shaken as they will be, they might start questioning you.
Call Me By Your Name
Much like with American Pie, after viewing Luca Guadagnino’s film starring Timothée Chalamet, mom and dad will never see peaches in quite the same light. Indulge in the (unintentional) joys of summer fruit on your own.
American Beauty
Awkward from A to Z. Whether you’re around the same age as the protagonist, the underage girl he’s infatuated with, or the friend your dad might be infatuated with – or your mom (and his wife) who, amidst all this, discovers herself watching: it’s a no-go.
Watch it for your own film culture. And if you’re not already in a somber mood, be aware that American Beauty is the film that ultimately suggests that beauty can be found in something as simple as a plastic bag swirling in the wind.
Eyes Wide Shut
Finding a Kubrick film that isn’t embarrassing – although extremely informative from a cinematic perspective – to watch with your parents is difficult.
However, Eyes Wide Shut surpasses them all. Firstly, it feels as though you’re peering into a couple’s private world (and consequently, your own) through a keyhole. Secondly, the desires and fantasies of the two main characters vividly unfold on screen with all their sensuous and mesmerizing intensity.
Gone Girl and Unfaithful
What do Gone Girl and Unfaithful have in common? The most terrible plot twists a marriage can take.
Prevent a post-sofa evening catastrophe with the emotional Armageddon involving the couple responsible for your existence. The advice applies to other unsettling movies like Blue Valentine or Marriage Story.
Kids
Larry Clark’s film is a deep dive into the world of a group of teenagers (they’re in New York in the ’90s, but many aspects are still relevant today), into their obsessions and experiments. There are two possibilities: either your parents have been through it and know exactly what it’s about, and will watch you in terror. Or they haven’t, and they’ll fear that you will.
In both cases: why trigger potential torment? Watch it, but on your own.
The Blue Lagoon
Of all films that depict very profound love in a particularly intimate way, The Blue Lagoon is perhaps the one that, even after years, leaves us most pleasantly shaken during a solitary viewing (especially if you are young).
It’s the hypnotic beauty of its two protagonists, his underpants, or the fact that from a certain point onwards the two explore themselves and their sexuality in such a sensual way that watching it with parents would be way too embarrassing.
We can already imagine the cringe-worthy scene where, to break the erotic tension, you tell your mother that the chicken you had for dinner was very good while the two on the screen passionately kiss (as you are probably dreaming of doing the same).
American Psycho
The title alone should suggest something. You can use it as a litmus test: if you propose it and are met with great excitement, not motivated by at least a “how nice, yes, a film with Christian Bale,” start asking questions about the people you live with.
After all, American Psycho is notoriously known – especially by the generation that read Bret Easton Ellis’s novel live in the ’90s – as a tale of madness, gratuitous violence, and bloodstains on white walls. What are you still doing in that house? Run away!
**Yes, Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet Are Still ‘Low-Key’ Dating**
This article first appeared on grazia.it — Author: Valentina Barzaghi
