The Grey Area
I went to see the steamy new BDSM flick with my mom, and things got awkward.
By Nicole Fryer, University of Pittsburgh
For the past month, my mom has been obsessed with 50 Shades of Grey and 50 Shades Darker. Like, super obsessed.
Every time I’d call her, she would either be reading the books, or she’d be watching the movie. She had read the books a while back when everyone was making a huge deal over them, but I had always brushed them away. Being a Writing major, I didn’t want to read an oversexualized “Twilight” fan fiction, and hell, I probably could’ve written a better story.
Anyway, I realized that my mom was re-reading the books and re-watching the movie because the second movie was about to come to theaters, and it just so happened that the opening weekend was the same weekend I was going to be back in town, and she was going to drag me with her.
To start preparing, the night I got home, my mom played the first movie and walked me through everything from the book that was left out of the film.
As a refresher, or if you’ve been living under a rock like I have, the series starts off with a young girl, Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) going to interview a young, rich, eligible bachelor, Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). Christian becomes fascinated with Ana, and the two eventually get together, and Ana discovers Christian is very much into BDSM.
I thought the first movie was rather boring and found myself nodding off throughout it, but I still got the whole concept. There was some sex in there, but, to be fair, I’ve watched “Shameless” with my mom before, which is a lot more graphic. I’m used to seeing various naked body parts flying all over the TV screen.
I have to admit, I was excited to go see “50 Shades Darker,” but once we got to the theater, I saw plenty of couples sitting around, probably wanting to see what they can do to spice up their sex lives, and I was the only daughter there with her mother. Awkward.
If you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want to (if you do, spoiler alert), the new “50 Shades” starts off with Ana and Christian still separated, and Christian desperately trying to win her back. Ana is now graduated and is working in a publishing house, with a boss who makes it super obvious that he wants to get in her pants. One day after work, Ana sees a woman who knows her name and seems a little out of it, but Ana gets quickly distracted and the woman disappears.
Ana and Christian reunite at a photo gallery, where Christian buys a set of photos of Ana that the photographer has displayed at the gallery. Christian tells Ana that he misses her and is willing to negotiate his terms.
The two have dinner, and Christian says he’s willing to have a “vanilla” relationship, as long as Ana will take him back. While the two are asleep in Christian’s bed, the mysterious woman reappears, and once Christian finds out what’s going on, he admits that her name is Leila, and that she’s one of his old, submissive exes and wants him back, though he has no interest.
Leila ends up trashing Ana’s car and breaking into her apartment, and of course, Christian comes to the rescue. Christian is a lot less possessive of Ana throughout the movie, which makes the whole situation seem a little more normal and less abusive. He seems like he’s really trying to change for Ana’s sake, and it’s apparent that he really does love her.
The action picks up when Ana’s boss confronts her about a work trip to New York, and Christian won’t let her go (like I said, he’s trying). Her boss gets pissed and pulls her into his office, where he tells her he wants to get in her pants, and Ana manages to bend his finger back and kick him in the balls.
She tells Christian, and though he wants to kill the dude, he holds back and makes sure the guy is fired. The next day, H.R. is at the office and Ana is chosen to fill in for the boss at a meeting with the other publishers, where she then impresses them and begins moving her way up in the company.
Shortly after, Christian asks Ana to move in and she gladly accepts, and soon after, he asks her to marry him. She doesn’t really give him an answer, which I don’t blame her for, as things seem to be moving way too fast. Shortly after, Mia calls Ana to ask what she should buy Christian for his birthday, because she’s planning on throwing him a huge party. On Christian’s birthday, Ana reveals her answer, and they announce their new engagement to friends and family.
Ms. Robinson is there, and she confronts Ana about her choice in wanting to marry Christian. The two get into it, and the family finally learns that Ms. Robinson was more than just a friend to Christian. He and the family cut ties with her immediately, and get back to celebrating. Everyone is happy, until the camera flashes to Jack, Ana’s ex-boss, burning a picture of Christian in a classic, to-be-continued type ending.
Overall, I thought the second ’50 Shades Darker’ movie was a lot better than the first, as there was such a better plotline, and the drama will keep you from nodding off. Plus, the sex scenes are a lot better and more intense than they were in the first movie.
Once I got over the whole awkward stage of being the only girl with her mom at the theater, I actually enjoyed the film. In fact, a few days after, I went to the theaters with my roommates to see the movie again. In the end, watching the movie with my mom was not a big deal at all, though if you do have friends who want to see it, I would still recommend going with them.
