Jezebel: teeth

The Brush-Off

Anna — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:10:00 EDT

[Sydney, August 3. Image via Getty]

A young woman takes part in a teeth power brushing promotion in Sydney on August 3, 2009. 300 Sydneysiders brushed their teeth to mark the start of Dental Health Week. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/

Ricky Gervais learned recently what Americans...

Margaret — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:30:00 EDT

Ricky Gervais learned recently what Americans expect of celeb smiles when a journalist complimented his willingness to wear unflattering false teeth for his role as a dentist in Ghost Town — though they were actually his natural teeth. While bad British teeth are a comedy cliché in the U.S., the Brits find our obsession with unnaturally straight and white teeth bizarre. "Americans have the idea uniformity is equivalent to looking good. The British character is more free-spirited, more radical," says Professor Liz Kay of the Peninsula Dental School in England. In the UK, celebrities who have had dental work done (like Simon Cowell and Kate Beckinsale) are often mocked. "Americans don't mind this unnaturally white look. It's a new phenomenon, like buying a Rolls Royce and telling the world. They are wearing a smile as a badge," adds Martin Fallowfield, a member of the British Dentist Association. [BBC]

MagHag

Dodai — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:20:00 EDT

Dodai here. When I was buying this issue of Bazaar, the young lady working the cash register did a double take at the picture of Kirsten Dunst on the cover. "Damn, they fixed her teeth!" she exclaimed. I took a closer look. Kiki has famously said, "messed-up teeth are sexy." Do her choppers look as though they've been altered? (Click to enlarge.)

"Got Any Deep Throating Tips?"

Tracie — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:20:00 EDT

It's time for another installment of Pot Psychology, the advice column in which everyone's problems are solved with an "herbal" remedy. (Remember, kids: Don't do drugs!) In this episode, Rich and I got help from our pal Sasha Frere-Jones, to tackle problems like reclusive behavior, definitions of words, and all the other usual sex stuff. Got a burning question? Send it to potpsych@jezebel.com. (Please keep them short; they're verrrry hard to read when stoned.)

Mom to almost-18 Michelle Duggar is going...

Jessica — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:20:00 EDT

Mom to almost-18 Michelle Duggar is going to be one toothless old biddy, if this new study holds any water: according to the data, women who give birth to more children lose more teeth, regardless of socioeconomic status, reports Reuters. Even "in the highest socioeconomic group, women with no children were missing on average less than one tooth, those with one child were missing about two teeth and those with four or more were missing about five teeth." In the lowest social strata, women with four or more children were missing more than eight teeth, on average. Women are more prone to gingivitis during pregnancy, and when knocked up are less likely to go to the dentist, according to experts, who say gestating women want to avoid dental X-rays. [Reuters via MSNBC]

Killer Cooches

dodai — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:50:00 EST

Haven't see the movie Teeth yet? Neither have we. But New York magazine has a come up with a cunning list of the ten scariest "movie vaginas". Think Audrey II from Little Shop Of Horrors, Sharon Stone's muff from Basic Instinct, Carol Anne's bedroom in Poltergeist, and, of course, the Sarlacc Pitt from Return Of The Jedi. All yonic, all deadly. [New York Mag]

Movie Critics Take A Bite Out Of Teeth

Jessica — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:20:00 EST

Ah, Teeth. We've been obsessed with this movie about a young girl who discovers teeth in her taco since we saw the trailer back in November. The movie opens today in New York and Los Angeles, so critics have finally started jawing about the dentata drama, and though the reviews are generally positive, everyone is in agreement that the film's star, Jess Weixler, is fab. (Salon calls Weixler's big screen debut "A pointed performance in a movie that mostly just gums its subject".) The rest of the peanut gallery chews it up, after the jump.

Salon

"Teeth" is mildly entertaining in places — you can't beat a bloodied, disembodied penis for grim laughs — but it's not nearly as deep or as thought-provoking as Lichtenstein clearly intends it to be...Weixler navigates the drama of that discovery with a degree of subtlety that defies the schlocky silliness of the movie around her. It's a pointed performance in a movie that mostly just gums its subject.

Ain't It Cool News

This is a very very smart movie and one that despite a really terrifying amount of intimate gore - it plays tender. Seriously.

New York Times

As much as you applaud its satiric nerve, once "Teeth" has demonstrated how far it will go, its joke becomes repetitive. Before the movie's over, the screen is littered with severed pieces of the male anatomy, one of which is snapped up by a dog. Ho-hum. The problem with shockers, comic or otherwise, is that once the coup de grâce is delivered, there are no big surprises left.

Entertainment Weekly

Writer-director Mitchell Lichtenstein is onto something really fresh in his feature debut, flipping a graphic warning for men into an empowering fable for women. He tacks on some sci-fi-grade commentary about Darwinian genetic adaptation. And he tosses in just enough goofy-grotesque, chomp-chomp gore to keep midnight-madness audiences entertained, a tonal balancing act carried out with star-making poise (in the tradition of peachy beauties with comic capabilities) by Weixler in her first big feature role.

New York Post

The graphic, Troma-grade special effects sometimes undercut Weixler's serious performance. The movie doesn't turn truly (if darkly) funny until the final half-hour, when a newly empowered Dawn decides to get some payback with her sleazy stepbrother (John Hensley).

Los Angeles Times

Campy, shameless and sophisticated, Lichtenstein's debut is gutsy and original, and it makes "Juno" look positively tame by comparison.

Village Voice

[V]eteran actor Lichtenstein, the son of Pop artist Roy, rarely finds a workable tone, muffling the splattery mayhem with sluggish pacing and a tendency toward camp. Still, even if the movie's little more than a curio, I love the thought of Lichtenstein at the pitch meeting: "It's Jaws meets The Vagina Monologues!"

Teeth [Salon]
Harry Has Seen Teeth - And Is Still Not Afraid Of The Vagina!!! [Ain't It Cool News]
Teeth [New York Times]
Teeth [Entertainment Weekly]
Chaste Makes Waste In Mental Dental Horror Spoof [New York Post]
Teeth [Los Angeles Times]
Village Voice [Village Voice]

Reader Roundup

Jessica — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:40:00 EST

Best Comment of the Day, in response to Dentata Drama: "When trying to explain it to my boyfriend, he asks, 'So wait, the vagina talks about abstinence to kids?'" We say: Teeth make one hell of a chastity belt. • Worst, in response to Wentworth Miller Leaves The Prison Stripes To Ladyfriend: "As soon as I saw those thighs (hers) I knew I'd been right all along. He's beyond gay. Which is too bad, because otherwise I know I'd have a shot." We say: wouldn't his interest in a woman who doesn't have the curves of a 12-year-old boy make him straight, not gay?

[Image via Oh! My God! I Miss You ]

Back in November we heard about the trailer...

Jessica — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:45:00 EST

Back in November we heard about the trailer for Teeth, the story of a nubile young girl who discovers that her nether regions have sprouted fangs. Wanna see more dentata drama? Here's the first five minutes of the film, in which heroine Dawn (Jess Weixler's) vaginal deformity is explained and she gives small children a lecture about chastity. Ah-mazing. [Bloody Disgusting]

Vaginas With Teeth Get The Tinseltown Treatment

Slut Machine — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:00:00 EST

Above is the trailer for Teeth, a horror/comedy about a girl who discovers that she has vagina dentata — teeth in her taco! It first premiered at Sundance last January, where it gained lots of buzz and critical acclaim, and the film's star Jess Weixler won the Sundance Special Jury Prize for Acting. Reviews say Teeth is full of "raunchy sexuality and ridiculous gore, including a number of chopped off penises," which sounds right up our alley. And by "alley," we mean "vagina." Kidding! Anyway, it opens in NYC and L.A. November 30, with a wider release in mid-December.
Teeth Finally Being Released in November; Distribution Rights Sold [First Showing]