Carnal Knowledge - Tucker Max fans should watch this movie

Not new. Repost of the last blog attempt.

I hate Tucker Max.* I hate “pick up artist” books. I hate that our society has bought into these dicks and has taken the sexual revolution of the 1960’s and turned in back into a 1950’s game of conquest and numbers. I don’t know what type of lousy childhood these boys (they are not men) had that they must compensate for by devaluing women and increasing their value all while ruining our human dignity and ability to openly communicate. I don’t know what causes these girls (they are not women) to be in awe, jealous and want to sleep with them. I just don’t get it. If you are so dull and uninteresting that buying a lady a drink shows your un-alpha maleness and ruins your chance of sleeping with her, chances are you weren’t sleeping with her in the first place.

Carnal Knowledge directed by Mike Nichols and starring Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel (Yes, from Simon and...) was the second film in my post vacation, headcold movie marathon. It is odd that this one happened to be on the queue because just a few nights before I had a small debate with a half drunk family member about the same issues. He is a staunch believer this whole alpha/beta male, pseudo psychology and anthropological hunter/gatherer bullshit about getting women. Admittedly, he’s read the books and I’ve only read about the books. I guess you could classify me as a beta, meaning I don’t buy into the whole “you’re placing the pussy on a pedestal”, in order to get a girl act like you don’t care lifestyle. Although, I get my history from sources other than people who refer to themselves as “pick up artists” and know that hunter gatherer societies were very egalitarian with the women helping as much as men in hunting and moving camp and not just waiting in some cave continually popping out babies while waiting for Grog the Strong to bring home fresh gazelle meat.

I am personally fascinated by sex and society’s fear and views of sex so much so that I minored in Women’s Studies in college. I have watched just about every documentary on sexuality and porn available. I am by no means an expert, but still love talking like I am. Carnal Knowledge, released in 1971 on the heels of the sexual revolution, shows the two extreme ends of the spectrum of male sexuality and how society changed and forced the male libido to grow up. Through the 70’s coke fueled orgies, 80’s shoulder padded power-suits, and 90’s Lilith Fair rock it seemed as if women and men were becoming equal. Women were finally (and I hate this word) becoming empowered.

Then the 00’s happened. Somehow we started to regress. Porn became common place thanks to the internet and thus became socially acceptable. I can't deny that I played my own small part in it. Hustler opened megastores. Playmates got a tv show. Cheap cameras and computers allowed every hack to start selling sex. This desensitized the public and led to (arguably) extremely degrading “gonzo” and “bang bus/reality” style porno. Meanwhile off the internet, we as men convinced women that stripping was good exercise and “juicy” bedazzled on your ass was a great fashion choice. 14 year olds started keeping blow job journals and Tucker Max rose to fame. I am not saying any of this is inherently wrong. Ok, the BJ journals and Tucker Max are wrong, but adults working the pole to tighten up their abs and/or making gaping ass porn are their own choices and who am I to argue with either?

But this also led us right back into a 50’s mindset where women are yet again trophies. The college boy mindset is so extreme that having 7 minutes of drunken blackout sex in order to brag to your friends the next day is back. Maybe I am missing something positive and this is a resurgence of the sexual revolution, but I sure hope not. Free love is great. I am all about it, but like the hippies of the past, there was no maturity or professionalism to it. We even have much better weed than the free-lovers had and still can’t make it work. The act itself has remained intertwined with all our insecurities, hang-ups and neuroses.

Carnal Knowledge looks at the lives of two friends beginning in their college years in the 50’s at Amherst up through middle age in the 60’s and the sexual revolution it brought. Jack Nicholson plays Jonathan, who could be considered the alpha male character. He is loud, self absorbed and only cares about having sex with as many different women as possible. Art Garfunkel is his counter-part beta, Sandy. He is quiet, reflective and enjoys the companionship of a relationship for more than just sex. Both are also full of shit.

In reality, Jonathan is a scared little boy afraid to show emotion or move past a superficial relationship. Sandy, on the other hand lies to himself, marries the first girl he has sex with and soon realizes he now wants all the sex Jonathan is having and he now can’t.

At the beginning of the movie, both are immature boys living in the patriarchal fantasy world of the 50’s and both are unable to get laid. In walks Susan, played by Candice Bergen, a predecessor to the empowered female the sexual revolution brought. She falls for Sandy’s gentleness and eventually he convinces her to sleep with him. Jonathan, in total sleaziness, then moves in on the seemingly easy girl. Susan begins secretly dating Jonathan and his loud persona. Eventually, she dumps the excitement of Jonathan for the relationship of Sandy.

Flash forward 15 years. Jonathan and Sandy are both immature little boys but now middle aged. Sandy is now unhappily married despite putting on a front that “there is more than just sex.” Meanwhile, Jonathan puts on the front that “there is nothing more than sex.” Sandy eventually divorces Susan and begins dating an alpha female whom he still isn’t satisfied with. Jonathan has met Bobbie, played by the stunning Ann Margret, who is the passive aggressive match to Jonathan’s complete narcissism. Bobbie eventually convinces Jonathan to move in with him, albeit on his own terms. The relationship stalemates leading the passive Bobbie into depression as she tries to settle Jonathan. Finally, in the midst of a proposed 60’s swinging style partner swap, tragedy strikes (I won’t ruin it) and Jonathan must finally face adulthood and real emotion. The final scene, which is one of the most sad and poignant I have ever seen, shows how awful a Jonathan life becomes.

Freshmen boys should be made to watch Carnal Knowledge. It is doesn’t pull punches. It was made in that small window when nudity in films was realistic and awkward and not just to pull in box office receipts. And it has quite a bit of it, and by the way, kudos Ann Margret. Anyhow, it doesn’t dance around the issues or try to disguise them in tasteless jokes or visual gags. It is grimy and real. This is not American Pie and thank god for that.



* Admittedly some of Tucker Max’s stories are amusing. However, he is still a dick.