Guys peeing in movies: examples? ... and why??
May 23, 2024 2:03 PM Subscribe
(CW: discussion of, well, male-bodied people urinating in films)
Yesterday my film club got on a riff about men peeing in movies. It seems to happen more than you'd expect - guys peeing behind a truck; men peeing in public restrooms; men peeing on the side of a road; men peeing in hotel bathrooms. We're trying to collect of list of movies that have this, and more importantly - why?? What's the cinematic benefit? Is it to convey a long passage of time, or manly-mendom, or humanization, or...?? All examples and all theories welcomed!
The Naked Gun. Frank wears a wire, answers call of nature. Literal comic relief!
posted by SPrintF at 2:08 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 2:08 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
Interesting...
Well, men can pee anywhere they want to pee. So we do.
From a cinematic perspective, tribal feels? Salt-of-the-earth feels? This is what we do if we need to?
posted by Windopaene at 2:09 PM on May 23
Well, men can pee anywhere they want to pee. So we do.
From a cinematic perspective, tribal feels? Salt-of-the-earth feels? This is what we do if we need to?
posted by Windopaene at 2:09 PM on May 23
Pretty iconic plot point of The Big Lebowski.
posted by General Malaise at 2:09 PM on May 23 [5 favorites]
posted by General Malaise at 2:09 PM on May 23 [5 favorites]
In twist on the trope, in The Worst Person in the World, "Julie meets Eivind (a charmingly goofy, sincere Herbert Nordrum) at a party she has casually gatecrashed, and, attracted to each other but determined not to cheat on their partners, they play a swooningly flirtatious game of ‘everything but’. One drinks from the other’s glass, they watch each other pee, Eivind inhales the cigarette smoke spilling from Julie’s mouth, blowing it back in slow motion across her lips and cheeks."
posted by Klipspringer at 2:11 PM on May 23
posted by Klipspringer at 2:11 PM on May 23
I believe if you go back and review you'll find it's always Tom Hanks doing the peeing, even when he's not even cast in the movie.
posted by phunniemee at 2:14 PM on May 23 [4 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 2:14 PM on May 23 [4 favorites]
Classic one in A League of Their Own! Played here for comedic effect, to set apart Tom Hanks' character's masculinity, and to illustrate his dgaf attitude.
List here.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 2:16 PM on May 23 [4 favorites]
List here.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 2:16 PM on May 23 [4 favorites]
Austin Powers!
I’ve noticed an uptick of women en toilette in the last 5-7years, like full on seated.
But more specifically, a few of them in tamponas res as it were; leg up and rooting around. I find this refreshing personally.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:17 PM on May 23 [7 favorites]
I’ve noticed an uptick of women en toilette in the last 5-7years, like full on seated.
But more specifically, a few of them in tamponas res as it were; leg up and rooting around. I find this refreshing personally.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:17 PM on May 23 [7 favorites]
You can see none other than Huey Lewis, and his presumably prosthetic penis, peeing in a river in Robert Altman's Short Cuts. In this case, it's actually a plot point: he stops to take a leak, and winds up urinating near a young woman's body. Figuring out what to do with the body is the central conflict of this part of the movie.
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:18 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:18 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: rabbitbookworm - there's a list?? There's a list!
Keep coming with the examples too!
posted by Silvery Fish at 2:18 PM on May 23
Keep coming with the examples too!
posted by Silvery Fish at 2:18 PM on May 23
Oh, and the world's longest and most satisfying urination is surely that in Strange Brew, after Bob McKenzie consumes the entire contents of an industrial-size vat of beer. ("I gotta take a leak so bad I can taste it!")
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:21 PM on May 23 [6 favorites]
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:21 PM on May 23 [6 favorites]
The Big Chill.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:23 PM on May 23
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 2:23 PM on May 23
The only thing I remember about Liebestraum, which is a Mike Figgis film from the early nineties, is a very long urination. I have no idea at all why it’s in the movie.
posted by Puppy McSock at 2:24 PM on May 23
posted by Puppy McSock at 2:24 PM on May 23
An elementary-school field trip took us to the cinema to see Man and Boy, which opens with Bill Cosby’s character peeing against a tree.
posted by lasagnaboy at 2:25 PM on May 23
posted by lasagnaboy at 2:25 PM on May 23
No idea why it's so prevalent, but it definitely happens more with men than women. Maybe some Freudian weirdness that the culture has been stuck in for the last century? It feels like a voyeuristic look into what is normally private or semi-private, so you can milk that for characterization in a few ways.
Like the urination scene in The Shape of Water has a a character enter a restroom that is currently being cleaned. He washes his hands, then uses the urinal, then talks with some custodial staff who witnessed the whole thing: "A man washes his hands before or after tending to his needs. It tells you a lot about a man. [He unwraps and eats a candy.] He does it both times - points to a weakness in character."
Seems like a cutting insight into that creep's whole vibe.
posted by crossswords at 2:32 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Like the urination scene in The Shape of Water has a a character enter a restroom that is currently being cleaned. He washes his hands, then uses the urinal, then talks with some custodial staff who witnessed the whole thing: "A man washes his hands before or after tending to his needs. It tells you a lot about a man. [He unwraps and eats a candy.] He does it both times - points to a weakness in character."
Seems like a cutting insight into that creep's whole vibe.
posted by crossswords at 2:32 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Patsy Kensit in Twenty-One, if you want a female example. But, please don’t take that as a reason to watch it, it’s really terrible.
posted by Puppy McSock at 2:33 PM on May 23
posted by Puppy McSock at 2:33 PM on May 23
From a screenwriting perspective, a scene with a penis-haver peeing is an opportunity to slow down action for a dialogue scene, as even the toughest meanest hombre on earth eventually needs to pee. Also, there’s an implication that the audience is seeing them in a private, unguarded moment.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 2:34 PM on May 23 [10 favorites]
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 2:34 PM on May 23 [10 favorites]
Also don't know if this counts, but one of the transformers (Bumblebee?) clearly urinates on John Turturro in one of those movies. So even robot-guys urinate on film.
posted by crossswords at 2:36 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
posted by crossswords at 2:36 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
The trope is subverted (as they say) in The Full Monty. There's a scene in which men watch women pee into a urinal. The men realize at this point they are completely useless, with nothing left they can offer to society.
posted by mark k at 2:44 PM on May 23 [5 favorites]
posted by mark k at 2:44 PM on May 23 [5 favorites]
As to why - I always consider this kind of a strange question. This is an extremely common aspect of the human experience, one that every one of us experiences multiple times a day, and it would extremely strange if it never made its way into art of all kinds.
In addition to the fact that it is a common/universal experience, it is one that comes pre-loaded with all sort of rather strong feelings and emotions. It's got a strong taboo attached, shame, a sense of intimacy, all the strong innate feelings that come along with bodily functions, and a bunch of other things depending on context.
Again it would be astonishing if artists of various sorts failed to mine this for its expressive and emotional potential.
Why men are shown in this situation more than women is actually a good question. Some of it undoubtedly has to do with the usual sexism and such, as well as the fact that screenwriters have (at least historically, but I'll bet even how) been far more or somewhat more likely to be men. So they write about their own experiences, which include peeing, peeing with friends, etc etc etc. They have a harder time envisioning how this translates for women.
Finally there is a practical aspect to it - with men you can make it happen just about anywhere - many possibilities for comic or dramatic effect - and it is relatively simple to show the action from the back or otherwise that keeps the rating situation under control. Whereas the female equivalent is more likely to be restricted to a restroom and involve more bodily exposure - which must be dealt with somehow unless you which to feature or highlight it, which in many cases is not ideal.
posted by flug at 2:49 PM on May 23 [7 favorites]
In addition to the fact that it is a common/universal experience, it is one that comes pre-loaded with all sort of rather strong feelings and emotions. It's got a strong taboo attached, shame, a sense of intimacy, all the strong innate feelings that come along with bodily functions, and a bunch of other things depending on context.
Again it would be astonishing if artists of various sorts failed to mine this for its expressive and emotional potential.
Why men are shown in this situation more than women is actually a good question. Some of it undoubtedly has to do with the usual sexism and such, as well as the fact that screenwriters have (at least historically, but I'll bet even how) been far more or somewhat more likely to be men. So they write about their own experiences, which include peeing, peeing with friends, etc etc etc. They have a harder time envisioning how this translates for women.
Finally there is a practical aspect to it - with men you can make it happen just about anywhere - many possibilities for comic or dramatic effect - and it is relatively simple to show the action from the back or otherwise that keeps the rating situation under control. Whereas the female equivalent is more likely to be restricted to a restroom and involve more bodily exposure - which must be dealt with somehow unless you which to feature or highlight it, which in many cases is not ideal.
posted by flug at 2:49 PM on May 23 [7 favorites]
"Warhol & Basquiat have made art out of what few others would dare" on film somewhere, the link's just the quote source. Earlier, Van Gogh & Gauguin in At Eternity's Gate
posted by HearHere at 2:51 PM on May 23
posted by HearHere at 2:51 PM on May 23
There's a bit in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang where Robert Downy Jr. accidentally pees on a corpse. It made my grandmother laugh, which is reason enough for the scene to exist.
posted by merriment at 2:52 PM on May 23 [4 favorites]
posted by merriment at 2:52 PM on May 23 [4 favorites]
Seinfeld tv show has Elaine peeing ("Can you spare a square?").
Movies also like to have men fight in the bathroom, probably because the water spraying everywhere looks cool.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:57 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Movies also like to have men fight in the bathroom, probably because the water spraying everywhere looks cool.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:57 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
In Major League, the manager pisses on Corbin Bernsen's contract, after Bernsen has pulled it out to explain he doesn't need to do calisthenics.
In Blue Velvet, Kyle Maclachlan's takes a piss while he's searching Dennis Hopper's apartment (IIRC). I remember this as a tense scene, wondering if this is when he'd be caught.
Steve Martin pisses himself (implied, we don't see his pants) during Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to alienate a mark.
Thinking about the big picture, it's actually a fairly versatile scene! There's just raw bathroom humor, of course.
It can be used (as in Major League) to clearly establish contempt. "Pissing on stuff" is a metaphor made concrete. There's also an obvious sexual, alpha-male element to someone pulling out their wang and waving it around.
On the flip side, it can also put a man in a vulnerable spot. If you decide to take a piss, you are pretty much stuck to the spot for the next 30 seconds are so. In thriller/horror, you also have your back to potential danger. Literally, if you are in a bathroom or at a urinal, staring at the wall instead of attack angles. And just as important visually, since your back is to the camera.
The implicit vulnerability can also be used to highlight a conversation. If you are talking with another man while you take a piss, it often implies some level of trust; if there's a women there, intimacy and comfort. (Alternatively, it can imply the character is beneath notice). In terms of filmmaking, it'll also anchor a scene visually and (usually) aurally.
posted by mark k at 3:04 PM on May 23 [3 favorites]
In Blue Velvet, Kyle Maclachlan's takes a piss while he's searching Dennis Hopper's apartment (IIRC). I remember this as a tense scene, wondering if this is when he'd be caught.
Steve Martin pisses himself (implied, we don't see his pants) during Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to alienate a mark.
Thinking about the big picture, it's actually a fairly versatile scene! There's just raw bathroom humor, of course.
It can be used (as in Major League) to clearly establish contempt. "Pissing on stuff" is a metaphor made concrete. There's also an obvious sexual, alpha-male element to someone pulling out their wang and waving it around.
On the flip side, it can also put a man in a vulnerable spot. If you decide to take a piss, you are pretty much stuck to the spot for the next 30 seconds are so. In thriller/horror, you also have your back to potential danger. Literally, if you are in a bathroom or at a urinal, staring at the wall instead of attack angles. And just as important visually, since your back is to the camera.
The implicit vulnerability can also be used to highlight a conversation. If you are talking with another man while you take a piss, it often implies some level of trust; if there's a women there, intimacy and comfort. (Alternatively, it can imply the character is beneath notice). In terms of filmmaking, it'll also anchor a scene visually and (usually) aurally.
posted by mark k at 3:04 PM on May 23 [3 favorites]
I'm pretty sure there was a scene in Buffalo 66 where Vincent Gallo's character is peeing in a urinal and some other person in the washroom says something like "it's so big".
There's an Arnold Schwarzenegger film, maybe True Lies?, where he's in a washroom and some person comes into the washroom to attack him but he can see the person's reflection in a chrome fixture and then they have a fight.
As to the why, well we all pee a couple of times a day. I probably pee more times than I eat a meal and there's tons of meals on TV. Why specifically guys and not girls? A woman in a stall or a group of women in stalls with closed doors doesn't seem to have as much going on as a man, or group of men all lined up at urinals. Also maybe some past sense of propriety more than anything else. No one's going to say anything if a movie shows the back of some guy peeing against a car but a ratings board/censor might ask you to cut a scene of a woman squatting to pee somewhere.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:08 PM on May 23
There's an Arnold Schwarzenegger film, maybe True Lies?, where he's in a washroom and some person comes into the washroom to attack him but he can see the person's reflection in a chrome fixture and then they have a fight.
As to the why, well we all pee a couple of times a day. I probably pee more times than I eat a meal and there's tons of meals on TV. Why specifically guys and not girls? A woman in a stall or a group of women in stalls with closed doors doesn't seem to have as much going on as a man, or group of men all lined up at urinals. Also maybe some past sense of propriety more than anything else. No one's going to say anything if a movie shows the back of some guy peeing against a car but a ratings board/censor might ask you to cut a scene of a woman squatting to pee somewhere.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:08 PM on May 23
Specifically regarding the greater frequency of cinematic depiction of men peeing en plein air (as opposed to in bathrooms): I think there's an argument to be made for men actually doing this, for both anatomical and cultural reasons, and cinema simply being a reflection of reality. Men really do just pee all over the place--I think it's been a matter of a couple of weeks, literally, since I observed a male rando peeing in public, while I don't think I've ever noticed a woman who didn't already know doing so.
posted by pullayup at 3:11 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
posted by pullayup at 3:11 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
It was used to good effect in the opening of Force Majeure, also called Turist, which deals heavily with masculinity.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 3:20 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 3:20 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
The 2011 film Shame starts with a scene of Michael Fassbender walking naked to the bathroom and peeing.
posted by essexjan at 3:45 PM on May 23
posted by essexjan at 3:45 PM on May 23
My first thought was cinéma vérité. I kind of agree with previous responses that it is one of the most common/frequent aspects of life (beyond breathing, sleeping, eating).
It also got me thinking about other common things, like a hired gun having a pet, many people have pets. But then maybe he crosses the mob who then kill his pet, and then the hired gun works on exterminating said mob. John Wick anyone? <>
I cannot find specific examples, but I do recall seeing examples in films where the person taking a leak is actually very close to where someone is desperately hiding, which communicates the proximity and danger without any dialog, just with the splashing sound and stream.
And I second the "urinal scene" from True Lies (there's also a poor guy who was using a stall during the mayhem, which is comic relief).
posted by forthright at 3:50 PM on May 23
It also got me thinking about other common things, like a hired gun having a pet, many people have pets. But then maybe he crosses the mob who then kill his pet, and then the hired gun works on exterminating said mob. John Wick anyone? <>
I cannot find specific examples, but I do recall seeing examples in films where the person taking a leak is actually very close to where someone is desperately hiding, which communicates the proximity and danger without any dialog, just with the splashing sound and stream.
And I second the "urinal scene" from True Lies (there's also a poor guy who was using a stall during the mayhem, which is comic relief).
posted by forthright at 3:50 PM on May 23
One of the best uses of it is in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (the Jolie-Pitt one.) it just works, plot wise.
posted by warriorqueen at 3:56 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
posted by warriorqueen at 3:56 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
Not a movie, but Shōgun.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:07 PM on May 23
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:07 PM on May 23
Surely Woody Harrelson peed in Natural Born Killers. But I only remember Juliette Lewis squatting to pee.
posted by Glinn at 4:13 PM on May 23
posted by Glinn at 4:13 PM on May 23
The Draughtsman's Contract has a fun urinator impersonating fountain statuary.
posted by ovvl at 4:20 PM on May 23 [3 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 4:20 PM on May 23 [3 favorites]
My Mom rolls her eyes and calls it "obligatory peeing scene."
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 4:26 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 4:26 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Don Logan pisses on the bathroom floor, because he's a sociopath, in Sexy Beast.
posted by 2N2222 at 4:37 PM on May 23
posted by 2N2222 at 4:37 PM on May 23
My Fellow Americans - for laughs, when a guy realizes he is sharing a urinal with a former president, gets all star-struck, wipes his hand on his shirt and sticks it out for a shake. Demonstrating the intrusion of people into your personal space when your famous, i think. I don't remember for sure but I think it's also fodder for the ongoing competition between the two leads.
Independence Day - groggy Will Smith pees in the morning while looking out the window at all the neighbors freaking out, being blase about it and not yet realizing it's aliens. I'm guessing it's to give him something to do, to underscore that he is being slow to wake up to what's going on outside.
posted by evilmomlady at 4:55 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
Independence Day - groggy Will Smith pees in the morning while looking out the window at all the neighbors freaking out, being blase about it and not yet realizing it's aliens. I'm guessing it's to give him something to do, to underscore that he is being slow to wake up to what's going on outside.
posted by evilmomlady at 4:55 PM on May 23 [2 favorites]
I don't remember where, but I'm sure the trailer Park boys movies have lots of pee scenes.
posted by wheatlets at 5:08 PM on May 23
posted by wheatlets at 5:08 PM on May 23
Tremors (1990) Handymen Val McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) start the day taking a leak over the high desert cliffs near Perfection, Nevada, and decide this will be their last day as local workers for hire.
That's before the grabboids show up.
This is same location for the grand finale, where Val tricks the last bloodthirsty worm to charge "cattle stampede style" through the cliff face to its death below.
Wolf (1994) Stewart Swinton (James Spader) follows Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) into the restroom after a failed attempt to sabotage his boss's career. Will calmly fires his protégé, then turns and urinates on Stewart's shoes to "mark his territory."
The werewolf themes continue from there.
Castaway (2000) Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) has washed up on a deserted tropical island, the only survivor of a plane crash. He wakes in the middle of the night and urinates into the surf... and sees the lights of a large ship on the horizon.
posted by TrishaU at 5:15 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
That's before the grabboids show up.
This is same location for the grand finale, where Val tricks the last bloodthirsty worm to charge "cattle stampede style" through the cliff face to its death below.
Wolf (1994) Stewart Swinton (James Spader) follows Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) into the restroom after a failed attempt to sabotage his boss's career. Will calmly fires his protégé, then turns and urinates on Stewart's shoes to "mark his territory."
The werewolf themes continue from there.
Castaway (2000) Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) has washed up on a deserted tropical island, the only survivor of a plane crash. He wakes in the middle of the night and urinates into the surf... and sees the lights of a large ship on the horizon.
posted by TrishaU at 5:15 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
water splashes, dramatically
"When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me a story... of a Demon King and his army. They brought fire and terror to the land. Until they faced the protector of the people."
1:41 in the trailer, a climactic scene illustrates Dev Patel's character's studied mastery of the architectonics of the world which brought about his mother's death. the space equalizes
Monkey Man
posted by HearHere at 5:23 PM on May 23
"When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me a story... of a Demon King and his army. They brought fire and terror to the land. Until they faced the protector of the people."
1:41 in the trailer, a climactic scene illustrates Dev Patel's character's studied mastery of the architectonics of the world which brought about his mother's death. the space equalizes
Monkey Man
posted by HearHere at 5:23 PM on May 23
somewhat previously: "peeing depicted in a positive way"
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 5:43 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 5:43 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Swingers when they're driving home from Vegas. No clue why.
posted by bookworm4125 at 7:31 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
posted by bookworm4125 at 7:31 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]
Never Cry Wolf (1983) — a wildlife biologist researching the relationship between wolves and caribou populations in the Arctic has established his base camp near a wolf den. After observing one of the wolves marking its territory on some of his stuff piled up near the tent (I think including an oboe?), the biologist decides he should establish his own territory, and, after drinking a couple dozen cups of tea he proceeds to do so while singing tunes from 'Pirates of Penzance'.
posted by theory at 7:35 PM on May 23
posted by theory at 7:35 PM on May 23
There a whole scene in the 1977 comedy “Fun with Dick and Jane” where Jane Fonda and George Segal have a whole conversation in their bathroom while Jane takes her pants down, has a pee, uses the toilet paper, pulls her pants back up and washes her hands. In one take. I have no idea why that cinematic choice was made.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:09 PM on May 23
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:09 PM on May 23
Big Daddy with Adam Sandler. Even the promo poster is him and the kid in his care peeing. Kind of like a manly rite of passage? Marking territory?
posted by Sassyfras at 8:18 PM on May 23
posted by Sassyfras at 8:18 PM on May 23
I'm glad that Buffalo 66 was mentioned, but I don't think that comment put enough emphasis on it. The entire plot of the movie, initially, is the main character desperately searching for a place to piss. (Obviously it quickly moves on to other, more Christina-Ricci-centric concerns. Also this detail probably looms artificially large in my memory because it was how the movie was pitched to me, by the same guy who emphasized Falling Down's distinctly FPS-like progression of armaments and then said "WEAPON UPGRADE!" in a video game announcer voice every time Michael Douglas picked up a new gun. Weirdly I don't remember a piss scene in Falling Down, but this was nearly two decades ago now. Sorry, what were we talking about?)
posted by dick dale the vampire at 8:20 PM on May 23
posted by dick dale the vampire at 8:20 PM on May 23
There's a scene in Easy Rider that begins with Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson doing this on the side of the road to the tune of Little Feat's "Don't Bogart That Joint".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:52 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:52 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Not a movie, but there are so many scenes of male characters peeing (and having conversations while peeing) in House, MD that it's a running joke in the fandom (not counting the obvious pee-related medical scenes). There's a whole episode where the B plot is that House can't pee due to side effects of his opiates, and there's a scene where he's so desperate for relief that he gives himself a catheter.
posted by fight or flight at 4:52 AM on May 24
posted by fight or flight at 4:52 AM on May 24
In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a "pee bar" appears while Scott is peeing. This helps reinforce the video-game-iness of the movie, plus it's a nod to the comics. The careless way that Scott "washes" his hands also says a lot about his character.
posted by Woodroar at 5:55 AM on May 24
posted by Woodroar at 5:55 AM on May 24
I do some screenwriting (nothing with peeing yet), but a bunch of theories for different uses, off the top of my head:
-sometimes it's included for realism, especially in the "wake up in the morning and start my routine" type scenes. Seeing someone's bathroom can also provide a lot of quick information about the character (time period, income level, home life, personal habits, geographic location)
-sometimes used to indicate a character's health status (Tom Hanks in the Green Mile) or age (enlarged prostate, common in older men)
-done as a power play, "you're so unimportant that the only time I'm willing to talk to you is when I'm taking a piss."
-it can be a decent excuse, especially in an action-heavy or corporate intrigue-type film, to get two men to slow down for a minute and talk to each other in a more casual, natural way and break up locations to something besides offices, warehouses, meeting rooms
-it can also be used as a way for a character to overhear information they were not supposed to know (someone in a stall listening to two people talk at the urinals).
-if done outdoors or on the side of the road, it can indicate 1) the remoteness of the location (you don't pee outside where there's a lot of people/houses around); 2) the length of time they've been waiting.
-sometimes it can indicate something about the character themselves, if they are peeing in an inappropriate location or as an act of vandalism.
-sometimes illustrates the lack of privacy in an environment and that all the men are of equal status and in the same situation (prison, army barracks)
posted by castlebravo at 9:16 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
-sometimes it's included for realism, especially in the "wake up in the morning and start my routine" type scenes. Seeing someone's bathroom can also provide a lot of quick information about the character (time period, income level, home life, personal habits, geographic location)
-sometimes used to indicate a character's health status (Tom Hanks in the Green Mile) or age (enlarged prostate, common in older men)
-done as a power play, "you're so unimportant that the only time I'm willing to talk to you is when I'm taking a piss."
-it can be a decent excuse, especially in an action-heavy or corporate intrigue-type film, to get two men to slow down for a minute and talk to each other in a more casual, natural way and break up locations to something besides offices, warehouses, meeting rooms
-it can also be used as a way for a character to overhear information they were not supposed to know (someone in a stall listening to two people talk at the urinals).
-if done outdoors or on the side of the road, it can indicate 1) the remoteness of the location (you don't pee outside where there's a lot of people/houses around); 2) the length of time they've been waiting.
-sometimes it can indicate something about the character themselves, if they are peeing in an inappropriate location or as an act of vandalism.
-sometimes illustrates the lack of privacy in an environment and that all the men are of equal status and in the same situation (prison, army barracks)
posted by castlebravo at 9:16 AM on May 24 [3 favorites]
Not film, but examples on album covers: Who's Next, obviously, although apparently it's only Pete's pee, the others used water or something; and the the Baja Marimba Band was known for always having a guy in the back turned away from the camera.
posted by Rash at 9:48 AM on May 24
posted by Rash at 9:48 AM on May 24
Don King: Only in America.
Don King (Ving Rhames) enters a men's room with George Foreman (Jarrod Bunch), washes his hands, uses a urinal, then offers Foreman a contract and a pen.
Foreman pauses. He asks, "Ain't you going to wash your hands?"
King replies, "I wash my hands before I touch my dick."
posted by Boxenmacher at 10:35 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Don King (Ving Rhames) enters a men's room with George Foreman (Jarrod Bunch), washes his hands, uses a urinal, then offers Foreman a contract and a pen.
Foreman pauses. He asks, "Ain't you going to wash your hands?"
King replies, "I wash my hands before I touch my dick."
posted by Boxenmacher at 10:35 AM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Peeing was used as a minor plot point in The Usual Suspects. I won’t post any spoilers for a nearly 30 year old movie.
posted by Fuego at 11:47 AM on May 24
posted by Fuego at 11:47 AM on May 24
There's an arresting scene towards the end of Personal Best (1982) in which Mariel Hemingway volunteers to direct the flow for Kenny Moore. I think he decides that he prefers to pee without help. It's a rather nice example of indicating trust and intimacy.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:55 AM on May 24
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:55 AM on May 24
Peter O'Toole has a memorable lavatory scene in 'My Favorite Year' - in the Ladies Room!
posted by Rash at 3:24 PM on May 24
posted by Rash at 3:24 PM on May 24
IMDB: "men urinating".
There is a particular movie artefact from British films of the 1970s or so, which is groups of men unloading from a coach to pee against a wall en masse, when on a trip somewhere. One example is Carry on at your Convenience (1971) where this happens at the end of a day out from work. This led me to the TV trope "Potty Emergency" which provides several other examples of this case plus other peeing.
posted by biffa at 4:43 PM on May 24
There is a particular movie artefact from British films of the 1970s or so, which is groups of men unloading from a coach to pee against a wall en masse, when on a trip somewhere. One example is Carry on at your Convenience (1971) where this happens at the end of a day out from work. This led me to the TV trope "Potty Emergency" which provides several other examples of this case plus other peeing.
posted by biffa at 4:43 PM on May 24
Is it not really more the male equivalent of women getting together in the ladies room to fix makeup, etc? You don't often see women talking when they pee because they're all in walled-off stalls and talking is difficult.
Then again, I don't often have conversations with other guys while in the restroom at all, so I may just been pissing in the wind.
posted by lhauser at 5:56 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Then again, I don't often have conversations with other guys while in the restroom at all, so I may just been pissing in the wind.
posted by lhauser at 5:56 PM on May 24 [1 favorite]
Actors have the idea of “business,” which is stuff you do that is visually interesting while not directly advancing the plot (admission: not an actor), e.g., lighting a cigarette, shaking a shotgun shell near your ear, or fussing with items on your desk. It seems like taking a leak could fall into the same sort of “these are just people doing people-like things” bucket.
It’s interesting how a little bit of conversation can take on a greater significance.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 7:47 AM on May 25
It’s interesting how a little bit of conversation can take on a greater significance.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 7:47 AM on May 25
Just caught a scene in Saturday Night Fever in which a young man pees off the Verrazano Bridge after (a really uncomfortable) sex scene. It seemed to be all about the recklessness, disrespect, and machismo of the sex scene, and those characteristics of that group of guys and their culture in general.
posted by kapers at 1:24 PM on May 25
posted by kapers at 1:24 PM on May 25
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by drezdn at 2:07 PM on May 23 [1 favorite]