Top 20 Pointless Nude Scenes

NOTE TO VO ARTIST: Pls voice everything in blue (including the line after #1)!


WM-Film-Top-20-Pointless-Nude-Scenes


Welcome to WatchMojo and today were counting down our picks for the most gratuitous nude scenes that did absolutely nothing to advance the movies plot and only served to sexualize the characters.

#20: A Brief Glimpse

Into the Night (1985)
Ed discovers his wife having an affair after coming from work. Already suffering from insomnia, he decides to drive out to LAX[a]. There he comes into contact with Diana, whos being chased by dangerous men. He takes her to her brothers place in Hollywood where she invites him as shes still in danger. Diana goes to the bathroom to clean up and change her clothes. During this time, though, we see her nude. She even walks out to the bedroom to get some clothes and Ed catches a glimpse of her. Its brief but not warranted.

#19: Crashing the Changeroom

Mallrats (1995)
Normally found standing outside the Quick Stop, Jay and Silent Bob are at the mall and are on a mission to destroy a stage being set up for a gameshow. During their first attempt at taking out the stage, Silent Bob is foiled by a kid whose toy causes him to go careening into the changeroom of a womans clothing store where he bursts in on Gwen. Later during another attempt, Silent Bob again crashes into a changeroom Gwen is in. This time, however, shes topless, trying on a shirt. Its a shot that the movie could do without.

#18: A Surprising Reveal

Total Recall (1990)
A central question to this film is if the events that unfold really happen or is it just a product of the memory implant from Rekall[b]. Either way, Douglas Quaid finds himself in the middle of a conflict between rebel mutants on Mars and the Agency. His journey takes him to a bar in Venusville called the Last Resort where he looks for a woman named Melina. Hes told by the bartender that Melina is busy but Mary is available. She unbuttons her shirt to reveal her chest, revealing a third breast. Its a well known moment from the film but it doesnt add much beyond novelty.

#17: Mr. Chow[c]

The Hangover (2009)
After a wild night in Vegas, Phil, Stu and Alan retrace their steps to find their missing friend, Doug. They end up getting arrested for stealing a police cruiser. After going through some tasing, the trio are able to get their Mercedes from the impound lot. While on the road, they hear knocking coming from the cars trunk. Thinking its Doug, they rush out to open the trunk only for a naked Mr. Chow to pop out and attack them with a crowbar before running off into the distance. Aside from the surprising nature of the attack there isnt a good reason for him to be in the buff.

#16: Wrong Number

Demolition Man (1993)
Look, we get it. Waking up 36 years in the future is jarring and its going to take some time to get used to things. Thats the situation John Spartan finds himself in when hes taken out of cryogenic stasis to stop criminal Simon Phoenix. Having just learned that kissing, touching and the exchange of fluids has been outlawed from Lenina Huxley[d], Spartan returns to his apartment. While sitting down, figuring out what to do next, a woman suddenly pops up on screen. She also happens to be naked before realizing that she has the wrong number and quickly disconnects the call. Obviously, this adds nothing other than knowing that even in the future its possible to dial the wrong number.

#15: A Prominent Member

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
This underrated comedy tells the story of Dewey Cox, a Johnny Cash type musician. Early on in his career, when his music starts to take off, hes introduced to marijuana by his drummer, Sam. After Sam very poorly warns Dewey to stay away from the narcotic, Dewey begins smoking and soon finds himself in a hotel room after a wild night. Hes on the phone talking to his wife while all around him are many nude individuals. Its very excessive but, perhaps, topping everything off is when Deweys roadie, Bert, enters the frame and all we see is his lower half. If it was just a quick shot, that would be one thing but this just screams, look a penis!

#14: Skinny Dipping

Doc Hollywood (1991)
Dr. Ben Stone is on his way to an important job interview in Los Angeles. While passing through the small town of Grady, South Carolina, he gets into a car accident and is sentenced to do 32 hours of community service in the town. After spending the night with the welcome committee, he wakes up the following morning and wanders outside by a nearby body of water. Suddenly, a woman emerges from the water completely nude. Ben is awestruck and why wouldnt he be? This lady comes from nowhere and walks right up to him before putting a shirt on. It only adds shock value and not much else.

#13: Saving the Princess

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
In his effort to stop Valentine from unleashing a signal that will cause everyone to become incredibly violent, Eggsy encounters an imprisoned Swedish princess. In exchange for saving the world she offers Eggsy the chance to engage in some backdoor activities with her. Some fans of the film found this particular joke to be excessive and see it as a tonal shift from the rest of the movie. Once Eggsy does in fact save the world, naturally comes back to where the princess is held where she proceeds to turn over, revealing her behind. Its right at the end and it comes off as throwing in nudity for the sake of it.

#12: Hallelujah

Watchmen (2009)
Theres something to be said about Dr. Manhattan swinging around his manhood like theres no tomorrow but it can be argued that his lack of clothing demonstrates his diminishing humanity. Even still, its a lot to take in. However, the moment of intimacy between Silk Spectre and Nite Owl is something else entirely. After the pair rescue people from a burning building, they get it on in Nite Owls ship. The whole thing is so over the top, especially with the inclusion of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah playing over the scene. Combined with the dramatic lighting and close ups, were just left asking, what are we doing here?

#11: Swimming Pool Fantasy

Fast Times at Ridgemont[e] High (1982)
Linda and Stacy are chilling in the backyard when Damone and Rat show up unexpectedly to hang out with the girls. A bit later, Stacys older brother, Brad arrives having just finished work. He nonchalantly says hi to Linda before going inside but we soon see him peeking at her from the bathroom window. He begins to fantasize about her coming out of the pool and declaring her interest in him. Before kissing him, she takes off her top, because of course she would. Its a moment that doesnt add anything as the sequence is pure imagination on Brads part. In fact, the two characters dont even interact much beyond Linda walking in on him.

#10: Bottomless Party

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
These two incorrigible stoners have just washed up on Miami Beach, and need help clearing their names with Homeland Security. Harold and Kumar turn to their only friend in the area, but theyre in for a surprise when they get to his house. Fed up with the over-popularity of the topless party trend, Raza has decided to host a bottomless party. The scene comes off as an excuse to show a house full of women with no pants on just because. The Harold & Kumar films seem to have established themselves as the go-to for excessive amounts of needless sex and nudity. The first installment even featured a scene in which a bizarre couple propositions the bumbling pair.

#9: Dancing in the Cemetery

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Theres no place quite like a graveyard to get you in the mood. As a group of punks hang out waiting for their friend to get off work, a character named Trash gets turned on thinking about gruesome ways to die. Out of nowhere, she starts taking her clothes off, and based on her friends comments, this is pretty typical behavior for Trash. Just before she dances on a tomb, she strips down completely naked except for her leg warmers a strange choice considering everyone keeps complaining about the heat. Trash spends the next half hour of the movie mostly naked until, unsurprisingly, she gets eaten by zombies. 80s horror movies sure loved to punish women who werent impeccably pure.

#8: Spying in the Shower

Sixteen Candles (1984)
This is a weird scene to include barely ten minutes into a movie about high schoolers, especially one that otherwise remains fairly chaste throughout its runtime. Sam has a crush on a senior named Jake, who is currently dating the beautiful and popular Caroline Mulford. While at school on Sams sixteenth birthday, she and her friend stare at Caroline in the shower, jealous of her mature body. We get that the filmmakers want to show that Sam is self-conscious about her own appearance and thinks she cant compete with Caroline. But surely, there are much less explicit ways to do that, no?

#7: Yacht Party

Entourage (2015)
Why does Hollywood think that women are super eager to get naked at parties thrown by rich guys? Before the opening credits even roll, this movie whisks its audience away to a yacht off the coast of Ibiza, where newly single Vince is hosting a party. The guest list is primarily women in bikinis, both with and without their tops. Of course, anyone whos watched the Entourage series knows to expect plenty of nudity and casual sex, with womens bodies often treated like set dressing. Its probably fair to say that the feature film is just giving its audience what it wants.

#6: Bird in the Buff

Howard the Duck (1986)
This one might be the weirdest example of pointless nudity ever put to film. The movie opens on Howards home planet of Duckworld, where our leading man, er, duck has just settled into his arm chair to relax. After channel surfing for a bit, he pulls out a copy of Playduck magazine, and were treated to an image of a female duck wearing only a corset. But it doesnt stop there. The room begins shaking, and Howard and his chair are pulled by some unseen force right through the wall. As he crashes through his neighbors apartments, we see another female duck topless in the bathtub. This begs all kinds of questions, the first one being, why would a bird have human-like anatomy?

#5: Surprise in a Cake

Under Siege (1992)
How can you make a tense action movie even more enthralling? Add a nude model jumping out of a cake, of course. When a band of hijackers take over a battleship during the captains birthday party, everyone forgets about the beautiful woman waiting in the cake. And after taking too much seasickness medication, she forgets her job too, and falls asleep. Later, as Steven Seagal patrols the ship taking out mercenaries one by one, he jostles the cake and wakes her up, prompting her to start stripping before even realizing whats going on. Lets just say, if the filmmakers wanted Seagal to team up with a real-life Playboy Playmate, there are less gratuitous ways to do it.

#4: Random, Unmotivated Nudity

Open Water (2003)
This sleeper hit was inspired by the real-life disappearance of an American couple who were accidentally abandoned at sea while on a diving trip. The low-budget camera and sound work give the film a documentary feel, which makes it even more bizarre when the lead actress suddenly appears fully naked with no warning. Early in the movie, she lays in bed, on the night before the dive, wearing nothing but some face cream. There is literally no purpose for this nudity it doesnt even lead into a sex scene. In fact, theres nothing sexual in this movie at all. So why did we need to see Blanchard Ryan naked?

#3: Unexpected Undressing

Trading Places (1983)
One of the most acclaimed movies of the 1980s, Trading Places is more sophisticated than the average comedy. Thats why Jamie Lee Curtis sudden toplessness at the midway point is so jarring. When wealthy financier Louis ends up on the street as the result of a sadistic experiment by his bosses, Curtis Ophelia takes him in out of pity, having played a role in his downfall. After giving him the lowdown on her life, she suddenly begins undressing in front of him. Its not the only instance of unnecessary nudity in the film. But it is arguably the most pointless.

#2: Topless Vacuuming

Working Girl (1988)
When she finds out her boss is planning to steal her idea for a merger, Tess waits until she goes on vacation, then secretly takes over her role. Things go better than expected. She impresses her colleagues and even hooks up with a young Harrison Ford. As Tess rushes to prepare for her bosss return, the film suddenly cuts to a shot of her vacuuming in only high heels and underwear. The moment comes out of nowhere. Not only is it unmotivated, but the logistics of it just make no sense. After taking off her clothes, did she put her heels back on just to vacuum? In a film with strong feminist themes especially for the time period this scene is just baffling.

#1: The Half Million-Dollar Scene

Swordfish (2001)
Hacker Stanley has been recruited by a covert anti-terrorism operation to create a computer worm. After waking up in their cushy headquarters, he finds one agent, Ginger, relaxing outside wearing only a bikini bottom. The famous scene was Halle Berrys first nude appearance on camera, and it generated a lot of buzz before the film was even released. Berry has denied the directors claim that she was paid an extra $500,000 to appear topless, but shes well aware that the moment is totally gratuitous. Still, she credits the scene with helping her overcome her fear of baring her body on screen. Although panned by critics, Swordfish recouped its production budget, thanks at least in part to this incredibly pointless nudity.


Are there any nude scenes you think are pointless? Let us know in the comments!










[a]ell ay ex / L.A.X.
[b]Rekall = recall
Melina = muh-LEE-nuh / muh-LEENA
[c]Chow / Ciao https://youtu.be/QF_EqxugeUM?si=6Ku63Kh2CN4wj28h&t=84
[d]luh-NEE-nuh HUCKS-lee https://youtu.be/YWBQCmFLU74?si=jcHZvY5jWehOFfQN&t=8
[e]ridge-mont / ridge-mawnt (not ridge-mount) https://youtu.be/vzva_I8WPAg?si=3fQ_cVlwaUne_ALm&t=18