This Friday theaters will be showing the latest movie to be brave enough to slap on the NC-17 rating.  Shame, starring Michael Fassbender (X-Men First Class) and Carey Mulligan (An Education) is about a man who has to juggle his sexual addiction and his familial responsibility when sis comes to town for a visit.

Shame is already being compared to Last Tango In Paris, so I’m attracted and squicked.  But I’m guessing Fassbender will be better in the buff than an almost 50-year-old Brando. As with Tango, Shame has popular, talented actors as leads, and with even more nekkid on TV nowadays, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays in Peoria.  Considering how sex is used to sell everything, to the point where it’s often difficult to even figure out what a commercial is “really” selling?  NC-17 needs to be embraced by the masses and not thought of as Prøn v. 2.0.

As for the story, it’s a tough one to guess, probably because it’s tough to get a real handle on an NC-17 film in a green-band trailer.  But I’ll find out at the screening next week. For now, here’s the trailer….