"My blood runs cold, no, not because my angel is the centerfold, I'm a snake... that's just what our blood does."
A visual gag in which a character who is reading a magazine rotates it 90 degrees, and either deliberately pulls out a centerfold to view it, or is surprised when the centerfold falls out on its own.
A lot of magazines out there have centerfolds, but when this trope is used it's usually meant to be a parody of Playboy's Playmates, centerfold posters of nude female models, and the content of the centerfold is generally assumed to either be that, or more commonly nowadays, something effectively similar. For example, sexual content other than a nude woman, or non-sexual content that would also give the viewer a tawdry thrill.
The audience isn't always privy to what's on the paper, but we always see the folding paper and the viewer's reaction. Sometimes it's meant to indicate something about the viewer, other times it's meant to indicate just what sort of publication the book or magazine in question really is. Occasionally, it's a perfectly innocent type of material, such as a family album, in which the reader suddenly discovers a folded image of some not-so-innocent content.
When the content is actually seen by the audience, some variations on the nude woman include:
- Nude male models, or nude models of the setting's other races/species, which may or may not have the same effect on the audience as on the characters.
- Subjects that are presented the same way a model would be, but are in no way alluring, or even outright repulsive, such as inanimate objects or a tremendously ugly model.
- Content that is only titillating to particular characters, such as a centerfold of specs and blueprints enjoyed by a mechanical character.
- Non-sexual content that is similarly pleasing, such as Food Porn or an advertisement for a desired product.
- An image of one of the characters the audience has already been introduced to, showing a new side to them.
Almost always Played for Laughs, as it's hard for the contents of a porno mag to be harrowing on a dramatic level.
May be found combined with Porn Stash and Head-Tiltingly Kinky, as well as other Sex Tropes and Gender and Sexuality Tropes, for obvious reasons.
Examples:
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Comic Books
- Adventures of the Mask: The third issue has a bit where the Mask ogles at a centerfold of Lassie in the magazine Playpooch while preparing to rescue Stanely Ipkiss's missing dog Milo.
Comic Strips
- The Far Side: One comic shows a group of male snakes reading Playsnake — with a centerfold that has to be unfolded five or six times to show the snake-of-the-month's full portrait.
- FoxTrot:
- In one comic, Jason and Marcus excitedly pore over old issues of National Geographic. Roger sees this and concludes that the boys must be looking for pictures of topless African women. In reality, Jason and Marcus are reading the science articles—and they're particularly excited about the Apollo 11 issue.
Jason: And check out the moon map centerfold...
- Another strip has Jason drooling over a centerfold and saying "I want you" until the last panel reveals that he's looking at a computer magazine.
- In one comic, Jason and Marcus excitedly pore over old issues of National Geographic. Roger sees this and concludes that the boys must be looking for pictures of topless African women. In reality, Jason and Marcus are reading the science articles—and they're particularly excited about the Apollo 11 issue.
- Garfield: One strip has Jon getting such a magazine. He is disappointed to discover that the centerfold model is a 5-page foldout of a really tall Amazon.
- The Lockhorns are entertaining another couple at their home. While the women converse in the background, Leroy and his male guest peruse a magazine with a centerfold. "It's a magazine tailored to married men," explains Leroy. "Same centerfold every month."
Films — Animation
- Word of God states that when Gaston is flipping through Belle's book sideways in Beauty and the Beast (1991), he's looking for a centerfold.
- Mulan (1998): Parodied. Ling pulls out a scroll that unfolds like a centerfold and pictures a drawing of an attractive young woman (who's clothed).
- While in Frank's mouth, Osmosis Jones is distracted while looking at a magazine called DNA Monthly that has a centrefold of a molecular structure.
Osmosis: Nice genes. You got the chromosomes in all the right places.
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: As Plankton unfolds his filed papers outlining Plan Z, sexy jazz music can be heard in the background while he moans in delight and lets the papers roll out like the usual centerfold.
Films — Live-Action
- Addams Family Values has Gomez find Fester's Porn Stash while discussing the latter's loneliness — after opening the fold of one magazine, they exchange smiles and fondly exclaim "Mom!"
- Adventures in Babysitting. A Playboy magazine features heavily in the plot. The gang running the chop shop where our babysitter and her charges end up (It Makes Sense in Context) had written the details of their plan down on the centerfold (presumably so that it might be overlooked by the police if they were ever raided). The magazine then ends up as a MacGuffin when the lecherous Daryl snags the book for himself. A Running Gag through the movie is the people who see the magazine comparing the centerfold model to Chris.
- In Airplane II: The Sequel, a Pedophile Priest on the flight can be seen checking out the centerfold of a magazine called "Altar Boy".
- In a Deleted Scene from Back to the Future (1985). 1955 Doc goes through 1985 Doc's luggage, finds a copy of Playboy, and pulls out the centerfold. He looks impressed and declares, "Suddenly the future's looking a whole lot better!"
- The Cat in the Hat (2003): The titular character finds a framed portrait of the protagonists' mother that he removes from the frame to their protests, only for the photo to unfold, revealing the rest of her. We see his hat extent in length in response.
- Fight Club: Played for Laughs. Early on in the film, "Jack" is shown sitting on a toilet, holding a magazine turned sideways. Turns out, it's a copy of Furni, the Bland-Name Product version of IKEA in the movie.
- The Last Starfighter: There's a minor gag where Alex's little brother Louis has a Porn Stash of Playboy magazines. He goes digging through the stack for a June issue, finds it, then pulls out the centerfold and goes, "Yolanda, baby."
- Loaded Weapon 1, Colt is in a small corner store, checking the magazines. He opens one to check the centerfold (causing so many publicity inserts to fall out of the magazine as he does so that he's buried waist deep in them) only for the camera to pan and show the magazine in question is about guns, and the centerfold is "The Gun of Month", an assault rifle.
- Love at First Bite: Dracula decries the collection of magazines that Renfield has brought him as "filth.. trash.. pornography.." But he nevertheless pauses a brief moment to check out a centerfold.
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie: As Cal and Joe are flipping through a mysterious mail-order catalogue of interociter parts and other advanced electronic equipment, Tom Servo quips, "Hey... Miss Interociter!" implying the catalogue is also a nudie mag.
- Robin Hood: Men in Tights has Blinkin (who is blind) reading a Braille edition of Playboy. The centerfold is an embossed image of a scantily-clad lady, which Blinkin gropes.
- Scary Movie 1: Parodied in the opening, where the killer threatens Drew Decker (the Expy for Drew Barrymore's Scream character) while looking through an adult magazine she's featured in. This magazine apparently goes into way more detail than the average porn mag.
Drew: What do you want?Killer: [Menacing] I wanna see what your insides look like!Drew: Then turn to page 54!Killer: [Flips pages] Oooh...
Live-Action TV
- One sketch by KLM, the comedy group behind Brødrene Dal, parodies the resistance against the Nazi occupation of Norway by depicting it as resistance against anti-smoking laws. A pair of smokers are shown with illegal literature, folding out the centerfold of a magazine which depicts a cigarette.
- Father Ted: In "Flight Into Terror" a priest returning from pilgrimage on the same flight as Ted, Dougal and Jack is seen reading a magazine titled "Altar Boy", which he then turns 90 degrees.
- The Last of Us (2023): In "Please Hold to My Hand", 14-year-old Ellie finds a man's magazine in the back of a truck, and goggles at the centerfold while uttering "How would he even walk around with that thing?"
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: In one episode, Dr. Forrester and Frank invent a porn magazine for psychologists, featuring "erotic Rorschach blots". The images, including the centerfold, all look just as indistinct as a real inkblot, but the Mads certainly think they're arousing.
- In an episode of The Partridge Family, the two youngest kids are shown looking at a "Playpen" magazine when a panicked Mr. Kincaid races in and grabs the magazine from them, complete with a dangling fold-out page.
- One episode of Sledge Hammer! has the titular character facing off with a group of Russian spies. In a quiet moment, one of the Russians reads a magazine and unfolds the centerfold to great satisfaction. Another angle reveals the centerfold is a missile launcher.
- One episode of Wings has the group attend a comedy show where a prop comic comes onstage with a cello. One of his jokes is to complain that his cello has a dirty mind and shows the audience a magazine he caught it looking at. The centerfold is another cello.
Magazines
- A "Lighter Side of..." strip in MAD had a group of fathers ogling a centrefold in a magazine and making comments about her "cute seat" and "how it's what's up front that counts". One of their sons pesters them to see what they are looking at. When they finally show him, it is a foldout ad for a ride-on lawn mower.
Music
- The J. Geils Band's hit "Centerfold
" is about exactly this: the mixed feelings that a guy gets on buying a mag and leafing through the pages - only to find that the featured girl is his old high school sweetheart.
Years go by, I'm lookin' through a girly magazineAnd there's my homeroom angel on the pages in between!My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold,My angel is the centerfold, (angel is the centerfold)I hope that when this issue's done, I'll see you when your clothes are on! - In "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for "Amish Paradise", some Amish boys open an Amish version of Playboy, showing a centerfold in Amish attire daring to show her ankle.
Print Media
- A single-panel cartoon by Christo appears shortly after the passing of Anna Nicole Smith in February 2007. Smith is at the Pearly Gates, standing before the lectern where Saint Peter would read her bio from a big book. In her case, Saint Peter has to read Anna's pages sideways. This is in reference to her pictorial spread that appeared in Playboy.
Video Games
- Thank Goodness You're Here!: At one point, Herbert holds a book entitled Gardening for Plonkers tilted 90 degrees and exclaims "Crikey, look at the size of this lad's marrow!". Whether or not this is referring to an actual marrow is open to interpretation.
- The Simpsons Hit & Run: One of the Kwik-E-Mart background gags you can see when entering is Krusty reading a centerfold magazine and saying "Do I like this!" Though his head moves back and forth like he's reading, long-time viewers of the show will remember Krusty is illiterate, so he's likely just looking at the pictures.
Web Animation
- PONY.MOV: In SHED.MOV, one of the things that are found in Fluttershy's shed (Besides all the dead animals obviously) is a collection of "Playpony" magazines. Rainbow Dash gets a "Wingboner" after seeing the centerfold of one magazine.
- RWBY Chibi: Ruby sneaks into Blake's room and ends up browsing her copy of "Ninjas in Love", which has a prominent centerfold-ish picture that we don't get to see, but we do see Ruby's reaction: "Now that's a katana!" It's unclear whether or not Ruby is engaging in Double Entendre, or whether this is an actual sword (because Ruby LOVES weapons), but she does call it "filth" when Ruby confronts Blake with it later.
Webcomics
- Exterminatus Now pulls this gag with a vertical two-page spread but it's otherwise the same format. We're not shown what Lothar is seeing, but we're told in pretty clear terms.
- In one strip of Fanboys, Lemmy opens up a poster in an old Nintendo Power magazine, and Paul walks in just in time to be convinced that this trope is afoot. Lemmy puts up a poor defense.
- Loading Artist: In this strip, a ghost is all over the centerfold of a magazine called "Boo-bies".
- In strip 2072 of Questionable Content, Robot Girl Momo-tan is seen reading a magazine called "Applied Robotics." She flips the magazine sideways and an unseen centerfold drops out, eliciting a look of shock.
- Sandra and Woo: In one strip, Woo can be seen a sitting on a hammock with a copy of the "BBC Wildlife Magazine" (which appears to be a raccoon special feature) turned 90 degrees on his lap and sighing contentedly.
Western Animation
- In Amphibia, while taking shelter at the Plantars' farm after king Andrias reveals himself as a tyrant, Grime takes a book from Hop Pop's nightstand and opens the centerfold before declaring "That's a big potato!"
- Archer: In season 4, Archer is bitching at Kreiger, who responds with "Because Newton's Third Law." Archer, in his usual sarcastic way, responds, "Thanks, Neil deGrasse Tyson." Within earshot is Kreiger's Japanese hologram fiancée, Mitsuko, who is reading a magazine on astrophysics ... sideways. Somehow, this magazine has a centerfold, which Mitsuko is admiring as she coos, "Ooh, deGrasse Tyson-san!"
- Dexter's Laboratory: One episode featured Dexter getting a science magazine with a giant wrench for a centerfold.
- Ed, Edd n Eddy:
- In "Quick Shot Ed", Edd finds one of these while looking through Eddy's attic. The centerfold contains a Praying Mantis.
- In "Cleanliness is Next to Ed-ness", Eddy tapes a magazine on his window to distract a prying Ed. We don't see the centerfold itself but Ed breaks out in a big grin.
- An Ad Bumper shows Eddy pulling out a magazine with "Pin Ups" on the cover, opens up the centerfold and the Eds all react as if it was something sexual; it turns out to just be the Cartoon Network logo.
- Futurama:
- Bender finds some old robot porn in "Fear of a Bot Planet", with a circuit board diagram centrefold.
Bender: Oh yeah! You're a bad girl, aren't you?
- "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television" has a bit where Tinny Tim looks at one of Bender's adult magazines and his eyes bug out at a centerfold depicting a circuit diagram.
- "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences": When Bender asks him what sort of woman he likes, Lrrr pulls out a magazine with an Omicronian foldout made of dozens of pages. Bender's eyes wilt at the sight.
- Bender finds some old robot porn in "Fear of a Bot Planet", with a circuit board diagram centrefold.
- Kamp Koral: In "To Pop a Bubble", Sandy pulls away Squidward's magazine, which has a centerfold of a clarinet as a catcall plays. Squidward nervously takes it back.
- One episode of The Real Ghostbusters ends with Ray showing Slimer the centerfold in a magazine. Peter asks if Slimer is mature enough to be seeing that, and Ray reveals it's a food magazine. The centerfold is a cake.
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: In "I Was a Teenage Stimpy", Stimpy looks at Ren's collection of "corn" magazines and finds a centerfold showing an ear of corn.
- Rick and Morty: "Rattlestar Ricklactica" features a civilisation of sapient space snakes, one of which is shown checking out the (extremely long) centerfold of a snake dirty magazine.
- An episode of Road Rovers showed two of the dogs ogling a centerfold, which had a picture of an enormous redwood tree.
- In the Roger Rabbit Short "Roller Coaster Rabbit", Roger can't find Baby Herman in his baby carriage, and as he performs a Rummage Fail, one of the items he finds is a magazine with a centerfold of his wife.
- Rugrats: In "Special Delivery", Tommy comes across a magazine called "American Baby". When he opens it, a centerfold pops out, and he says, "Baby!" in amazement.
- Space Goofs: "Toon In, Drop Out" uses this gag when Candy is appalled by the cartoon character Ducky engaging in not-so-family-friendly behavior. Ducky opens a magazine to its unseen centerfold while asking Candy if they'd like to see some "cartoon anatomy", Candy responding by pleading the children watching to avert their eyes.
- In the Teen Titans (2003) episode "Employee of the Month", Beast Boy literally drools over one of these, with his eyes replaced by cartoon hearts, and he comments, "Isn't she amazing?" He's looking at a picture of a moped, much to Starfire's confusion.
