We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.
With Friends with Benefits opening up last week, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. opening this week, it obviously has me thinking about sex. It's hard to deny Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are sexy. It's hard to deny Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are sexy. But are these couples the sexiest? That's the question.
Friends with Benefits is bound to be compared to this year's No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, but you won't find them on this list. You also won't find Portman and Kunis from Black Swan (too easy), Portman and Timothy Hutton from Beautiful Girls (too gross), Portman and Danny McBride from Your Highness (too insane), or Portman and Hayden Christensen from Star Wars (too lacking in anything that could ever be described as sexy). Look, you won't find Portman on this list. I'm sorry. Here are my choices through my history of films for the TOP 7 Sexiest On-Screen Chemistry Couples.
7. Richard Gere & Julia Roberts Pretty Woman (1990)
Recap: A man (Gere) hires a prostitute (Roberts) and they eventually fall in love. Reason: Roberts is able to make being a whore cute. Sure, Jason Alexander and I might get slapped for that, but it's true. Don't worry, she's able to make it sexy as well. I love the beginning of this film when Edward eventually gets around to asking Vivian to spend the night. She can't help his intense, serious stare that has made Gere famous. Eventually she gives him her lips. Bottom line though, even though Vivian definitely matures, she still starts out as a prostitute and that's a tough one to overcome.
6. Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman Casablanca (1942)
Recap: An American (Bogart) runs a bar in unoccupied Africa during World War II. He sees a former lover (Bergman), and sparks fly. Reason: The fist time I saw this film all the way through was Valentine's Day, on the big screen at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. It's great, and the dialogue easily holds up today. Here's the thing though, Ilsa is a little helpless. OK, she's almost totally helpless. At one point, she throws up her arms and is willing to do whatever Rick wants. You have to ask yourself, what is sexy? Confidence. That's sexy. She didn't have it. But still, they had the chemistry in spades. Play it again, Sam. Yes, Sam you can play it over and over again. It will never get old.
5. Michael Douglas & Kathleen Turner Romancing the Stone (1984)
Recap: Joan Wilder (Turner) is a semi-famous romance writer who goes to Colombia after her kidnapped sister. Jack T. Colton (Douglas) is there to help her as long as the price is right. Reason: Don't do it. Don't bring up the modern day Turner as your reason for this not to be on the list. Please just focus on what she used to be. I pick this one over Body Heat because of the age when I first saw it, and Douglas over William Hurt is a no-brainer. The man cuts high heels and still makes women melt. Plus, close your eyes and imagine the dirty crouch shot after the mud slide. OK, that didn't sound right.
4. Patrick Swayze & Jennifer Grey Dirty Dancing (1987)
Recap: Baby (Grey) spends the summer at a resort with her family. She meets Johnny (Swayze), a dance instructor who teaches her some moves. Reason: Because, "Nobody, but nobody calls me chicken!" Wait, that's not it. Because, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." In the 7th grade I told the student newspaper that this was my favorite movie. My thinking was that would help me score with the chicks. It didn't, but you know what? The movie is good and the chemistry is great. She's a nerd that has just enough sex appeal, even with the name Baby. Heck, even Crazy, Stupid, Love. agrees with me as the music and a dance move make an appearance in the film.
3. Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Recap: Luke Skywalker continues his Jedi training with Yoda. He must decide if he'll leave or rescue his friends and battle Darth Vader. Reason: What the hell? Based on that recap I must be an idiot, right? Wrong. Women didn't realize they'd be willing to be frozen in carbonite just for a chance for Han Solo (Ford) to mutter, "I know." It's the best possible response to Leia's (Fisher) "I love you." Their sexual tension was off the charts in this film and waiting for that kiss was well worth it, even if it was a side story. Plus there were lightsabers, storm troppers and all that other stuff about being someone's father.
2. Kevin Costner & Susan Sarandon Bull Durham (1988)
Recap: Each year, Annie (Sarandon) has an affair with one minor-league baseball player. But then she meets Crash Davis (Costner) and he changes her rules. Reason: It's a love triangle of sorts, but not the insanely crazy kind that Star Wars made us think about. It's Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) against Crash. Although, as soon as we meet both of them, we realize there is no contest. This is the first time (definitely not the last) that I have felt the power, the allure, of an older woman. She's teeming with confidence and sex appeal. Here's the defining scene with Crash telling Annie what he believes in ...
1. George Clooney & Jennifer Lopez Out of Sight (1998)
Recap: Jack (Clooney) is a career bank robber. He breaks out of jail and first meets U.S. Marshall Karen Sisco (Lopez) when he kidnaps her. Reason: I've been trying to get women into car trunks ever since this movie. It never works (with positive results). Jack and Karen "meet" in the back of a trunk and share my favorite "get to know you" scene of all time. He's trouble. She can take care of herself. The dinner they share, when they talk about their imaginary future together, is flawless. You want to run away with them just to watch ... the chemistry. Lopez hasn't been this on-screen sexy since. It's a shame.