For those of you who were welcomed to Orange County, California in the aughts, you will remember Adam Brody as Seth Cohen, the nerdy but adorable high school student who befriends his father’s ward, bad boy Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) on teen soap The O.C. But now he’s back in a new series where he plays – wait for it – a hot young(ish) rabbi. The setup of the series is easy enough: a young podcastress, Joanne (Kristen Bell) and her sister Morgan (Justine Lupe, or Willa from Succession) tell their listeners about all their dating woes in LA, rife with the emotionally unavailable, hot mess men at every corner on a Call Her Daddy-esque podcast titled, you guessed it, Nobody Wants This. At a dinner party Bell meets Brody’s Rabbi Noah Roklov in a case of mistaken identity that gets quickly sorted, and throughout the series, he continues to surprise her at every turn by subverting her often-mistaken ideas of what a rabbi is (He smokes weed! He has sex!), and who a single man dating in LA can be.

From the beginning, Nobody Wants This sets its viewers at ease, assuring us that Brody’s Rabbi Roklov isn’t your typical love interest. He is not the brooding, silent type whose icy exterior has to be warmed, and chipped away at by the right (read perfect, pure) woman. He is not the cheating womanizer who finds the right (read perfect, pure) woman that makes him stop his cheating ways, and finally see women not as objects for him to use and conquer, but as sentient, human people who also deserve respect.

When we meet Brody’s Noah, he is funny, besweatered, and charming. (Would I trust him to open a vintage bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape? No, but you can’t win them all.) Not only that, but somewhat refreshingly for male love interests, he is soft, observant, and tender, and emotionally available – all of which scare Bell’s Joanne. And all of which other men can learn from! Sure there’s a mishap with a sportcoat, but he comes back from it, and that’s the power of being emotionally available!

Suffice to say, a religious man being hot is not a new thing – there was Mandy Patinkin’s yeshiva student in Yentl, and Ben Stiller’s hip rabbi in Keeping The Faith. Sadly, even the young Mandy Patinkin bathing naked in the lake, with droplets of water burrowing beneath his forest of chest hair, down his abs, and finding their way to his – ahem, even young Mandy can’t compare to Adam Brody’s hot rabbi in Nobody Wants This. I can’t lie.

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This is a glorified thirst-piece, but it’s not just about how utterly stricken I am by his soft tousled curls, or his puppy dog eyes, and it goes beyond how much I want to see Brody’s character out of that sweater. It’s more so about how tender he is, how he speaks to Bell’s character Joanne (terrible name, but I digress) and holds her face when they talk. How at every point when she wants to run, he reels her back in by being open and honest, by being accountable for his actions (and sometimes even hers), by providing assurance and certainty when she needs it the most. By being a good partner.

All too often when it comes to romantic comedies, or romantic dramas, we’re faced with romantic heroes who are allowed to be flawed, denigratory, and imperfect. If we’re being honest, they’re kind of allowed to be a dick, while the women they encounter are given no such leeway, mirroring the gendered double standards that we often see in real-life dating. Nobody Wants This subverts that notion. First with Joanne, a flawed woman who is afraid of love, runs at the sight of a healthy relationship, and gives up when things get even a little bit too hard. And just as importantly with Rabbi Roklov, a man who sees her misgivings, soothes her distrust, assuages her ick, and loves her through it all.

Beneath this extremely well-written, well-acted television series replete with some of the most insane chemistry I’ve seen in years, is a lesson for men. That providing emotional security and stability, instead of leading with money and a plot of land, will always win out in the end. Even as bad as things get (wearing a sportcoat with basketball shorts), you can still come back from “the ick” and that is no small feat. Trust, everybody wants this.

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The post What men can learn from Adam Brody in ‘Nobody Wants This’ appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.

In the weeks leading up to Olympic Games, the powers that be announced that the dorms in the Olympic Village (much like the dorms back in Tokyo in 2020) had been furnished with “anti-sex beds” made from intricate, origami-like reworking of cardboard, put in place to keep the athletes focused more on the glory, and less on glory holes.

The truth is that the “anti-sex beds” were actually introduced as environmentally-friendly fixtures that can be broken down and recycled after the athletes vacate the dorms, as a part of a wider initiative to make the Games more sustainable. But whatever the reason for them, if there’s anybody who can throw down on a cardboard box, it’s an Olympian. And if you’re anything like me, and you’re more of a visual learner, Olympic diver Tom Daley – this year’s silver medallist in the men’s synchronised 10m platform – was more than happy to take to Instagram to demonstrate just how strong the beds were, and exactly how much movement they can withstand.

 

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A post shared by Tom Daley (@tomdaley)

It was also noted that the popular dating/hookup app Grindr would turn off its location services in the Olympic Village. Upon first thought, it seemed to me that it would be terribly inconvenient to not know whether someone was 30 feet or 30 km away if you were looking to faire l’amour, but upon reevaluation, it was actually for the safety of the numerous athletes who may not be out, or may be from countries where it is still illegal to be openly gay. And for that, we must salute them. Great job, Olympics!

But despite – or perhaps in spite of all its precautions – Paris 2024 is turning out to be the horniest Olympic Games I have ever witnessed.

First there was Italy, home of the Oscar-nominated, deeply horny film Call Me By Your Name, and of 23-year-old, 6’6″ Team Italia Olympic swimmer Thomas Ceccon (he’s an Aquarius for those who are keeping up), who won bronze in his 4x100m freestyle relay, and gold in the men’s 100m backstroke event. But it wasn’t his performance that got everyone talking. Sure, some people cared about “performance” at the “Olympics” but for most fans, it was the medal ceremony where he raised his hands in triumph, showing a sliver of his undercarriage, the V-cut that so many men work hard for (and lust after) to the crowd. It was magnificent. It was brilliant. It was tres magnifique.

MANAN VATSYAYANA I Getty Images

Meanwhile, across die stadt, Germany’s Leo Neugebauer the 24 year-old Gemini who is also 6’6″ garnered a silver medal for his 8,748/10,000 points (whatever that means) in the Olympic decathlon, but it should be known, if it were up to me, he would have won gold.

A new bombshell has entered the villa—Germany’s Leo Neugebauer pic.twitter.com/bRdzFQzaci

— Meech (@MediumSizeMeech) August 2, 2024

The USA’s very own Stephen Nedoroscik, the 25 year-old two-time bronze medalist – dubbed “Pommel Horse Guy” by the internet – set the internet ablaze when he took off his glasses and gave one of the most rousing performances of pommeling on a horse I’ve seen since I learned what pommel horse was late last week. I can safely say, I was entertained!

The fanfare didn’t stop there. France’s 21-year-old Anthony Ammirati was looking to qualify for the finals, but sadly had a big disappointment – a huge, girthy disappointment – during the pole vaulting event when he prematurely evacuated during his vault and his, ahem, pole connected with and dislodged the bar, impacting his score, causing him not to advance to the finals. I guess that snake tattoo was foreshadowing.

If @nastypig and @bikeathletics aren’t fighting over sponsoring Anthony Ammirati right now, somebody’s not doing their job. pic.twitter.com/89c4Q5bn47

— Rob Salerno (@robsalerno) August 3, 2024

While his Olympic dream may be over for another four years, the global coverage of Ammirati’s package has led to him being offered a six-figure deal with an adult website. So, you know. Silver linings.

Not to be outdone, the cup runneth over for the amount of thirst over Korea’s Yeji Kim who set a new world record in the women’s 25m pistol. Fortunately for her, but unfortunately for thirsty fans, Kim is married with a family, and if her markswomanship is any sign of things, you do not want to get on her bad side.

Perhaps the most endearing quality about the Olympics being set in the City of Lights during a heatwave is that for as much as the competitors are causing us to swoon and froth at the mouth over their rock hard physiques and good looks, they’re also inspiring us with their athletic prowess and determination. Because what could be more satisfying than watching somebody do the one thing they’re best at?

Speaking of determination, to round things out, we finish as we started, with Tom Daley giving us a look at the sweater he’d been knitting during his downtime at the Games.

Is it hot in here, or is it just wool in a 35-degree Parisian summer?

Via Men’s Health US

Related:

Everything you need to know about the 2024 Paris Olympics

Every Olympic event you won’t want to miss this week, Aug 5-9

The post The Olympics have never been thirstier appeared first on Men's Health Magazine Australia.