Today’s Tuna retrospective: Mena Suvari and Thora Birch in American Beauty

This is some of the best nudity ever from a winner of the Best Picture Oscar. The film is still rated among IMDb’s top 100.

Kevin Spacey won the Best Actor trophy that year, probably for convincing us that he liked girls. Now THAT is good acting.


Mena Suvari

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Thora Birch

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8 thoughts on “Today’s Tuna retrospective: Mena Suvari and Thora Birch in American Beauty

  1. I’ve always wondered if that was really Thora Birch. She was underage when the movie came, definitely underage when it was filmed. CGI wasn’t great back then but it definitely was a thing. There’s a nice big window sash between her head and the body. I doubt it would have been that difficult to use CGI to stitch a different body in there.

    I’ve never heard that it wasn’t her, but it’s just something that has been in my head for awhile now.

    1. There has always been something weird about that scene. In the dialogue of the film she talks about getting a breast enlargement. But the breasts we see there obviously need no enhancement. If anything, she might consider breast reduction.

      So perhaps there is something to your suspicions.

      Having noted that, I’ll add that the site was filmed with legal clearance from the State of California, and both of her parents were on the set when the scene was filmed, so it almost certainly is Thora.

      Roger Ebert noted at the time: “A spokesperson for the Jinks/Cohen Company, the producers, says: ‘It is not illegal. to have people under 18 nude or partially nude on film. The California Child Labor Board approved the scene, and its representative was on the set when it was filmed, as were Thora’s parents.'”

      1. There were reports from back then about her father being on set when those scenes were being filmed, and how odd it was that he was there because she was au natural. However, given his history and his wife’s in the adult entertainment industry in the 70’s, it probably wasn’t a big deal, just creepy to some people.

        Point being , he was there to make sure she wasn’t be exploited beyond what was agreed to (as he was her manager from what I remember). So these are for all intents and purposes her with no CGI hocus-pocus.

      2. I think the dialogue is evidence that it is her – if they used a body double (and CGI or film tricks to stitch her face on) then it would have made sense to pick one that matches what the script wanted. On the other hand, the body type seems to match her quite well.

        1. This is pretty innocuous, just a boob shot, & teenage girls in real life get brainwashed into thinking they’re not up to par; I’d heard Birch’s career got knee-capped because of the stage parents invading space on sets – but obviously there was a LOT sketchier stuff in the 70’s/80’s with underage actresses nude in actual sexual scenarios: Olivia D’Abo in Bolero, Michelle Johnson in Rio & of course Brooke Shields

          1. D’Abo had some nudity in Bolero, but I don’t recall her having any sex scenes. Johnson was 17 I believe in Rio and basically just did nude scenes. I think she kissed Caine a little. Brooke had a very adult role playing a child prostitute, but her mom was always around and she seemed to turn out fine. Jodie Foster also played a child prostitute and seemed to turn out fine. I don’t think any of these situations were that sketchy.

            Meanwhile, Drew Barrymore of Barrymore royalty and a godfather in Spielberg was America’s sweetheart in ET that went to Hollywood parties and developed a childhood drug addiction. And we know her situation was not uncommon among child actors. I don’t think the roles they play or whether they take their top off are the biggest risks they face in Hollywood.

      3. I always thought this was intentional, that we were learning something about her character’s psychology. She thinks she needs a boob job because she is insecure. Another reason for letting the audience see her tits is to show that she doesn’t actually need one.

    2. IMDB trivia says that she was 17, so they needed special permission from her parents, etc. And they had to have someone from the Department of Labor present or something.

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