Five Favorite Friends go see Fifty Shades of Grey Film-Filled with Fantasies, Fetishes, Flirtation and “Forbidden”? sex acts

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films / Friends

Written Thursday, February 12th

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I just returned a while ago from the movie theater whereupon I saw the new film “Fifty Shades of Grey”.  One of my BFF’s pre-purchased tickets early this week.  For some reason, we thought the theater was going to be jam packed.  It was not.  Maybe it’s because the the temperature here in Minneapolis was a whopping 9 degrees on yet another blustery February night?

We arrived at the theater clad in our various shades of grey to see the flick!  (Still exhibiting “Rah-Rah” behavior.  A term (I hope affectionately) bestowed upon a few of us from our high school days because of our “involvement” in so many school activities; including student government, plays, dance line etc. Anyway, the term connotes school spirit of some sort, doesn’t it?).  All right, I’ll own up, it was MY idea to dress in shades of grey for the occasion.  “It’s all about the outfit!”

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Regarding the movie though, my first overall reaction is: “Oh My”!  Yah, it was a little bit more shocking than I had expected.  Realizing I had read the book over two years ago, I guess it’s not surprising I had forgotten many parts of it.  (It’s astonishing what my mind forgets over a two year time span).    I certainly remember liking the first two books I read, so felt I was “prepared” to see the movie.  For some reason however, I think reading it is one thing and seeing it is another!

I don’t intend/wish to give the story away but the premise is that Christian, the main character,  has  issues from his past that contribute to his current sex life.  I think my favorite line in the movie was when he strongly exclaimed in response to character Anastasia’s question:  ” Because I am fifty shades of f****ed up!”  At that point, I was pretty much in full agreement.

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Here is my quick and dirty (pun intended) assessment of a few negatives and positives of the film for what it’s worth.  I am no self described film critic mind you.

The BAD parts:

Towards the end of the film there are increasingly intense/violent sex scenes. They were difficult for me to watch.  I feel sick seeing women physically hurt by men. That said, I feel sick seeing anyone physically injured.  For some reason though, war scenes, science fiction violence and even other violence in movies doesn’t quite affect my psyche like sexual violence does. If you don’t like sexual violence, you may want to turn a blind eye in the final sex scene.

As for my summation of characters:

I found Christian Grey  arrogant, petulant and controlling.  For some reason, I found him more “likable” in the first two books I read.  I found him neither appealing physically (too young and too thin) nor terribly interesting or intriguing.  For goodness sakes, I am old enough to be his Mother.  In fact, I am almost as old as the actress who played his Mother in the film. (Marcia Gay Harden).   I remembered that I once actually met her and had my picture taken with her at a Hollywood party that I attended approximately 10 years ago.  I searched my photo archives and here it is:

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Anastasia (Ana Steele) was likable (although her lip biting habit grew more annoying throughout the “flick”).  My friends decidedly liked her feistiness.  One of my friends favorite movie lines came from Ana near the end of the movie.  I won’t reveal the line but she definitely exerts her personal strength when it’s needed!  As for her personal STYLE/Fashion sense, (other than a pretty coral dress she appears in, late in the movie) we all agreed her wardrobe left a lot to be desired.  Does everyone already know that her real name is Dakota Johnson and that she is Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith’s daughter?

The GOOD parts:

Fantasizing about being swept off your feet (if only once in your lifetime) by a billionaire who transports you elsewhere, not by simply his fleet of fancy automobiles, but by helicopter.  Fantasizing that via LOVE, a woman can actually transform a “bad boy” into a good one.  I happen to be an incurable romantic so I’d love nothing more than to see Annastasia and her love for Christian accomplish this!

The music/soundtrack – I haven’t listened to it yet but I already downloaded it via i-tunes.

The theater we saw it in-When I asked my friend’s opinions their favorite parts, one of them immediately and enthusiastically replied: “Seeing it in these new seats”.  For those of you who may be reading this who live in my area-The new seats at the Plymouth Mann Theater are truly AWESOME.  Is there anything better than a reclining Barca-Lounger to see a film?  It was my first visit to the revamped theater and my first experience watching a movie in a reclining theater chair. It was most enjoyable!

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Lastly and most importantly, I believe viewing the movie may provide a vehicle for thought, discussion and evaluation of your own sexual interests and comfort levels in this arena.  I’m hoping the movie will inspire people to talk about the ongoing issues of rape, domestic violence and general oppression of women.  I know we’re moving in the right direction as a society, yet, I believe there is still a ways to go until women truly have equal status as men.

* Addendum

It’s now Friday and I am editing and finessing my blog to post while en route to Los Angeles for the weekend.  I went in to one of the airport stores and glanced at the magazines on the wall.  See for yourself who is on the front cover of these two leading magazines:

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IMG_2416** Second addendum- Just landed in LA and while driving to my destination, I saw three huge billboards of “Shades of Grey” advertisements.   There is no escape…!

Love this movie or hate this movie-It’s going to generate conversation at the very least!!!

I would REALLY LOVE to hear any of your thoughts on the movie or books if you care to share.  This is definitely a “HOT” subject!!!

1 Comment

  1. Sue Stickley says

    Berit,
    I was thrilled to see your blog on this movie. I read all the books and plan on seeing the movie in Pkymouth with a girlfriend on Monday. I shared with my bible study I had read all the books and they were quite shocked I would read such awful material. I wasn’t about to tell them I was also going to see the movie. They might have disowned me! I, like you, want to be informed and aware and I was very curious. I am well aware of all the dysfunction in life and ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. My ex husband was into porn and I hated it and found it very demeaning. His addiction to it was part of our marriage failure.

    In the movie, I liked how he seemed to become a better man although this did not happen in my marriage to my ex, but it could for someone else hopefully! I did not like the violence and weird sex acts, and I don’t know what to expect when I see the movie, but am quite curious how much will be shown compared to the book descriptions. Oh my! I am anxious to talk to Anne Myhran about it, and I’ll let you know my thoughts after the movie. Lucky you to be in California where it is so much warmer! Thanks for sharing. Love your blogs!

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