It’s a widely accepted fact that when Fast Times at Ridgemont High hit home video in the early ’80s, Blockbuster employees noticed a spike in damaged VHS cassette tapes. A generation of teens –– finally allowed to enjoy the film within their own four walls –– kept rewinding the infamous scene where Phoebe Cates gets out of the pool. So much so, that the poor, antiquated tech couldn’t take the heat. Literally.
OK, so a peek into the feminine mystique wasn’t front of mind for gays at the time. We were too busy focusing on Spicoli (Sean Penn) or “Rat” (Brian Backer), or maybe none of the above because all the dudes in that flick kind of suck.
But that doesn’t mean we haven’t had our own rewind-the-VHS-tape, pause-the-DVD, or screenshot-the-film moments. If there’s one thing we could count on, it was some gratuitous male shirtlessness in a summer movie or coming-of-age classic. These moments engrained themselves in our memories, helped us come to terms with our sexualities, and frankly, led to lifelong affinities for Chris Evans.
Hit the locker room, then meet us by the pool for these 12 summer movie shirtless moments that fostered our gay awakenings…
Dwight
Tom Cruise in Top Gun couldn’t hold a candle to Rick Rossovich in that scene.
aL2000
Absolutely correct !