That theme persisted beyond “Rocky” and the 1970s. For your consideration: “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” 1980. On her wedding night, Loretta Lynn, just a teenager, cries “no, no, no, no” as her older husband wrestles her into submission. The next morning, when he tells her to get used to it and she says that she won’t, he slaps her. It’s not pretty, but it’s a necessary rite of passage — or so the movie seems to maintain.
“Revenge of the Nerds,” 1984. Fixated on sorority women typically beyond his reach, a college nerd costumes himself so that one of them mistakes him for her boyfriend and has sex with him. When he removes his mask, she’s not appalled at his subterfuge. She’s impressed by his prowess.
“Overboard,” 1987. Dean and Joanna luxuriate in a post-coital embrace. “Was it always like this?” she asks him. He answers, “Every time with you is like the first time.” It’s a line meant for laughs, because this was the first time: She’s a spoiled heiress suffering amnesia, and he’s a working-class hunk who has duped her into cleaning his house, caring for his kids and sharing his bed by telling her that they’ve long been a couple. From this elaborate ruse comes her ecstatic rebirth. The movie is a romantic comedy.
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