Timothy McSweeney's Header Image

- - - -

Just in time for Valentine's Day,
the Guardian in London has
reviewed and raved about
The Secret Language of Sleep.
And, for the rest of the week,
you can buy it for $5!

- - - -

A 1980S
TEEN SEX COMEDY
BECOMES POLITICALLY
UNCOMFORTABLE.

BY ANDREW GOLDEN

- - - -

Scene: Johnny's bedroom. Johnny and Mack sit in front of an Apple IIc with a green screen. Pictures of 1980s models wearing leotards line the walls.

JOHNNY: You're the computer geek. You figure it out.

MACK: Just a minute, Johnny. (Typing.) By my calculations, when we create this woman, she'll have the teeth of Lauren Hutton, the freckles of Cheryl Tiegs, and the acting chops of Christie Brinkley. Then, we'll both lose our virginity!

JOHNNY: Take it easy, nerdenheimer. Just make with the lady.

MACK: OK, I just need to press this Alt button, and ...

(Smoke and fog fill the air. When it clears, a beautiful woman stands in the middle of the room. She is wearing a leotard.)

JOHNNY: All right!

GIRL: HELLO. I AM HERE TO PLEASE.

JOHNNY: Fix her voice, Mack! She sounds like a robot.

MACK: Okey-dokey, let me just press the Ctrl key ...

GIRL: Hello, boys.

JOHNNY: That's better. Hello, yourself. Are you ready to party?

GIRL: We'll get to that. Let me ask you a question first. What are your feelings on foreign policy?

MACK: Wha—?

GIRL: Personally, I've had just about enough of the stale whines of pussy McGovernites and their vague, soy-eating peacenikism.

MACK: I'm sorry?

GIRL: Listen, we're living in a new age and a new paradigm is necessary. We must maintain American power against foe or so-called friend, and not back out of pre-emptive self-defense because of wimpy Vietnam-syndrome horseshit.

MACK: "Pre-emptive self-defense" is an oxymoron!

GIRL: Oh, I see, American freedom is an "oxymoron"? You damn liberals.

MACK: Hey, that's not what I said!

GIRL: Ohhhh, so that's how it is! There's never any moral clarity when it comes to you limp-wristed bleeding hearts. You sound just like Fidel. And Hitler!

MACK: That's slander!

GIRL: You're slander. Next thing you know, you'll be telling me carbon emissions are a problem.

MACK: They are a problem!

GIRL: Well, well, look who worships at the altar of wishy-washy moonbat science! I've got an idea: why don't we just call off American industry altogether! Can I also sell you the Brooklyn Bridge, Mr. Farrakhan?

JOHNNY: You ready to party, baby?

GIRL: First you have to agree that the protection of American hegemony should recognize no so-called "international law" constraints. Sweden keeps ranking No. 1 on the U.N.'s Human Development Index? Hey, I hear they eat a lot of fish in Sweden. Maybe they'd like a fish made outta cluster-bomb nukes. And do you know who's a member of the U.N.? That's right, the Soviet Union! I know you must agree with me, Johnny.

MACK: Don't do it, Johnny! I must have accidentally programmed her incorrectly. My computer indicates the Fred Barnes factor is at radioactive levels. Don't sell out!

GIRL: Ohhh, I see. So conservatives are programmed, eh? But not you, huh? Oh, perish the thought!

MACK: You were programmed! I did it myself!

GIRL: (Sarcastically.) Of course! Let me submit to your will, comrade! You want America to be destroyed, don't you?

MACK: No!!

GIRL: That wasn't a no.

MACK: Yes it was!

GIRL: Well, it wasn't definitive enough. And you just said yes, anyway.

MACK: You're taking me out of context! I said "Yes it was" to the "no"!

GIRL: How's that for muddled logic? "Uh, yes, no, yes, no, death to America, Hezbollah is misunderstood, blah blah blah."

MACK: That's a misrepresentation!

GIRL: I'm done talking to you. Now, Johnny, your friend Mack here is clearly both anti-American and insane. Do you think the insane should be allowed to run this country?

MACK: How dare you! You're assassinating my character!

GIRL: Assassination, eh? My goodness, you sound exactly like Sirhan Sirhan. Why are you so angry? What's with this hate and hostility? I think you must have a mental disorder.

MACK: This isn't a fair debating style.

GIRL: Crybaby. If it weren't for you, we would have won Vietnam. Quagmire, my ass. You think I like being a veteran of our only lost foreign war? Defeated by traitors on college campuses and not by Charlie in the jungle, I'll tell you that much.

MACK: I wasn't even born. And I created you five minutes ago! You couldn't be a veteran.

GIRL: That's not what this National Guard payment slip says!

JOHNNY: What do I have to do to get into your pants, baby?

GIRL: You can start by repealing the death tax. If you gut the EPA, run a Southern strategy, and throw a Ronald Reagan film marathon on your dad's Betamax, I may even let you get to third base.

JOHNNY: Meh, Bedtime for Bonzo's probably gonna be a deal-breaker.

- - - -

OTHER McSWEENEY'S FEATURES:

- - - -

A 1980s Teen Sex Comedy Becomes Politically Uncomfortable By Andrew Golden
Ernest Hemingway Blogs About the Top Teams in College Basketball By John Frank Weaver
Real Historical Dolls: A Catalog By Kathryn Higgins
"I Spy" in Hell By Adrian Chen
The Focus Group's Transcript for My Prospective Garage Sale By S. Craig Renfroe Jr.

- - - -

MAIN PAGE | ARCHIVES



Memories of Amanda Davis




Red dot denotes content that is new today.

Black dot denotes newish content.

McSWEENEY'S STORE

SUBSCRIBE TO:
McSWEENEY'S
THE BELIEVER
WHOLPHIN

FUTURE McSWEENEY'S BOOKS

THE AMANDA DAVIS HIGHWIRE FICTION AWARD

INVITE A McSWEENEY'S AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN YOUR TOWN OR COLLEGE

THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING

McSWEENEY'S MONTHLY MAILING LIST

BOOKSTORES WITH A McSWEENEY'S DISPLAY

McSWEENEY'S-RELATED EVENTS AND VARIOUS TOUR DATES

ORDER INQUIRIES AND ADDRESS CHANGES

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
FOR BOOKS
FOR THE QUARTERLY
FOR THE WEBSITE
FOR WHOLPHIN

McSWEENEY'S INTERNSHIPS

CONTACT US

- - - -

LETTERS TO McSWEENEY'S

LISTS

McSWEENEY'S RECOMMENDS

REVIEWS OF NEW FOOD

NEW WHOLPHIN FILM

TEDDY WAYNE'S UNPOPULAR PROVERBS

NON-ESSENTIAL MNEMONICS

BITCHSLAP: A COLUMN ABOUT WOMEN AND FIGHTING

DISPATCHES FROM A GUY TRYING UNSUCCESSFULLY
TO SELL A SONG IN NASHVILLE


GLOBAL WAR ON BEDBUGS: LETTERS FROM BEDBUG CITY

THE CONFLICTED EXISTENCE OF A FEMALE PORN WRITER

OH MY GAWD: A COLUMN ABOUT A TEENAGER NAVIGATING RELIGION

DISPATCHES FROM MANILA

DISPATCHES FROM AN INDIAN CASINO

THE CONVERGENCES CONTEST

CHRIS WHITE ANSWERS PROFOUND
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS


REPORTS FROM THE PINBALL SCENE

LETTERS FROM THE HELLBOX

NOTES FROM AN AMATEUR SPECTATOR
AT AMATEUR MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTS


B.R. COHEN'S DAYS AT THE MUSEUM

CONVERSATIONS AT A WARTIME CAFÉ

GRANT MUNROE'S CORPORATE FOLKTALES

SARAH WALKER SHOWS YOU HOW

DISPATCHES FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER
WHO IS TRYING TO GROW A MUSTACHE


DISPATCHES FROM A HANGDOG BANKRUPT

DISPATCHES FROM THE CAPITAL

DISPATCHES FROM INDIA

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WITH ERIC FEEZELL

SEAN MICHAELS LISTENS TO MUSIC IN MONTREAL

SHORT IMAGINED MONOLOGUES

STAINED TEETH: A COLUMN ABOUT WINE

YOUR MONEY, YOUR JOB ... YOUR LIFE, WITH ALISON ROSEN

KEVIN DOLGIN TELLS YOU ABOUT PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IN EUROPE

LETTERS FROM AN EARTH BALL
TO, OR CONCERNING, SEAN HANNITY


E-MAILS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FLAG-FOOTBALL TEAM


TRAVELING EUROPE IN STYLE WITH AUCKLAND DINGIROO,
DARK-AGE TOURIST AND CRITIC OF FOOD AND DRINK


JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES

INTERVIEWS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING OR UNUSUAL JOBS

FLIP: A COLUMN ABOUT SKATEBOARDING

OPEN LETTERS TO PEOPLE OR ENTITIES WHO ARE UNLIKELY TO RESPOND

BEN GREENMAN'S FAKE CELBRITY MUSICALS

DISPATCHES FROM A PUBLIC LIBRARIAN

EXCERPTS FROM THE PANORAMA

SOLUTIONS TO BENJAMIN TAUSIG'S
THREE-DEMENSIONAL CROSSWORD PUZZLE
IN THE SAN FRANCISCO PANORAMA


ABOUT A VERY BAD WIZARD

ABOUT THE WILD THINGS

ABOUT THE CONVALESCENT

ABOUT FEVER CHART

ABOUT GOD SAYS NO

ABOUT ZEITOUN

- - - -

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL