Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

February 13, 2015 3:44 PM

Naïve college senior Anastasia Steele enters into a steamy BDSM-themed relationship with handsome billionaire Christian Grey.
posted by Small Dollar (14 comments total)

So, honest question for the genuine fans only. Should I read the book or watch the movie first? I do have a high tolerance for bad writing and bad movies.
posted by Drinky Die at 3:52 PM on February 13, 2015

At this point in time the number of people who've seen the movie first and then read the book has got to be pretty small.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:47 PM on February 13, 2015 [3 favorites]

The Rocky Road to the Making of the Fifty Shades of Grey Movie
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:11 PM on February 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

I found the film strangely depressing, and not very erotic. Maybe the leads didn't have chemistry. Of course, I didn't read the book; maybe it's different for people who read it.
posted by wittgenstein at 2:10 PM on February 14, 2015

The book is also strangely depressing and not very erotic.
posted by something something at 2:29 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

The book has crazy legs at the library--usually, bestsellers fall off quick, but this thing just keeps going. It's like 'Heaven is for Real' or 'The Shack' or 'The Secret' in that respect--one of those books, and I don't mean this as a dis, that's read by people who mostly don't read books.
posted by box at 8:44 PM on February 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

>I found the film strangely depressing, and not very erotic. Maybe the leads didn't have chemistry.

Yes, I believe that to be the case.
posted by Catblack at 10:10 AM on February 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

I remember my main branch library have a big sign at the circulation desk that said, "WE NEED DONATION COPIES OF 50 SHADES OF GREY! HELP!!!"

I found the book unreadably bad, but the movie was not unwatchably bad. It wasn't great but it was okay. Since my expectations were about a millimeter high, I was pleasantly surprised. Dakota Johnson was pretty good, it was fun to see Max Martini as the limo driver (or "Hot Dad from Pacific Rim" as my friends & I called him). They downplay the more abusive aspects, but play up the ZOMG BDSM IS SO FREAKY AND ONLY DAMAGED, BROKEN PEOPLE DO IT. So that sucked. Jamie Dornan wasn't great, but I don't feel like he had much to work with. They both look good naked, though.

You...don't need to read the book to see the movie. At all.
posted by Aquifer at 10:40 AM on February 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Naïve college senior Anastasia Steele enters into a steamy BDSM-themed relationship

Ugh, I wish it was steamy.

I thought Jamie Dornan was a terrible casting choice, he does not emanate power or presence at all, I found him just a pretty boy. I guess if the original Mr Grey in the book is a kid (I haven't read it), they didn't have much choice in the matter.

ZOMG BDSM IS SO FREAKY AND ONLY DAMAGED, BROKEN PEOPLE DO IT. So that sucked.

So agree, this was a real let-down.
posted by Dragonness at 5:43 PM on February 16, 2015

I had forgotten (for well over a decade) that Dave Barry could write humorous articles until I read his take on the book. And now I must read and watch it.
posted by Seamus at 9:56 AM on February 19, 2015 [3 favorites]

Thanks for the link to the Dave Barry recap, Seamus. It really was hilarious. I fondly remember Barry's parody of The DaVinci Code, which was a riot.

I'm enjoying the critical and satirical response on 50 Shades, but don't think I will ever bring myself to watch it or read it. I liked this blogger's take on why she thought the sex in 50 Shades was fine while the rest of the relationship between Christian and Anastasia was horrifyingly abusive.
posted by orange swan at 5:41 PM on February 19, 2015

Oops, forgot the link. Here it is.
posted by orange swan at 5:53 PM on February 19, 2015

I thought Jamie Dornan was a terrible casting choice, he does not emanate power or presence at all, I found him just a pretty boy. I guess if the original Mr Grey in the book is a kid (I haven't read it), they didn't have much choice in the matter.

Mr Grey isn’t described as a boyish person in the book, at least as far as I got in the book before I couldn’t stand the terrible writing anymore. (I have a rather low threshold for bad writing, YMMV.) But remember that this is a Twilight fanfic at heart and Mr Grey is Edward Cullen: a vampire frozen at 17 with no problem physically fitting in a high school setting. With that in mind I didn’t mind Dornan’s portrayal as much.
posted by Martijn at 7:21 AM on February 22, 2015

Erika Moen compares Secretary and 50SOG, and finds 50 Shades to not be all that different, particularly in its treatment of questionable power dynamics and BSDM safety, despite Secretary's status as something of a cult favorite.

I haven't seen Secretary in years so I don't think I can really add to the discussion one way or the other, but it's one of those movies a lot of people I know seem to like, despite how troublesome it is, and it's worth considering why it seems to have gotten a free pass that 50SOG isn't getting.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:48 PM on February 23, 2015 [1 favorite]