Before I begin, I will preface my review of this movie by saying that I did not read 50 Shades of Grey. Almost all eight of my roommates read it and loved it, but I didn’t really have time to sit down and read for leisure, nor did I really know if I wanted to spend my time reading something that I had heard described as “porn, but in a book instead of a video”. But, when my roommates and I heard the movie was coming out, we decided to see it as a group.
I sat between one of my friends who also hadn’t read the book and, lucky me, a middle-aged woman on my other side – just elevating how uncomfortable I felt throughout the movie. I had mentally prepared myself for the copious amounts of sex, but I don’t think I prepared myself for how terrible the movie would be as a whole, even though I had read reviews that said it was awful.
About fifteen minutes into the movie I turned to my friend and said, “The only thing saving this movie right now is how hot Christian Grey is, and the soundtrack.” I definitely stand by this now that I’ve seen the entire thing.
It wasn’t even the sex, or entirely abusive relationship – both emotionally and physically – that made me dislike this movie. There was zero chemistry between the characters, and zero plot. When the movie was over, I felt like I hadn’t watched anything other than sex, with the occasional conversation about Anastasia and Christian’s different desires for their relationship. I felt zero sympathy for either character at the end of the movie (don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for those who still want to go see it). Basically, Christian seemed like a stalker, and Ana was basically his prey.
Did no one else find it creepy that he showed up where she worked literally right after they met???
My friends who read the book have come to its defense, saying that in the book Anastasia stood up for herself and was far more assertive than she was in the movie. They also told me that many details about the relationship were left out that made it far more likable in the book. I know a lot of people who really liked both the book and the movie, but personally, after watching the movie, my desire to read the book is non-existent and I definitely wouldn’t recommend spending money to see the movie.