9 1/2 Weeks (1986)

“I don’t fast to lose weight, I fast to save money. ” – Harvey

Number of Times Seen – 1 (26 Jun 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A woman enters into a dangerous relationship with a man that she barely knows and endures much emotional pain despite her love for him.

My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve known about for over 30 years yet never really had much desire to see what it was all about.

It has been very well known due to the way that it depicts the sensual relationship between its two main characters and I now understand why it isn’t know for it’s deep and enjoyable plot.

Because it doesn’t have one.

The story presented here is not interesting to watch at all and drags on into very dark places that the characters should have no reason to go to.

Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger have really bad chemistry here and in every scene that they appear in together and interact with one another, things seem very out of whack.

The most famous scene of this film is the food scene and the idea actually works in the beginning moments but then things get very out of control and become completely crazy.

The concept is parodied really well in Hot Shots (1991) and despite the fact that I never saw the way that things are shown in this film before now, they really catch the essence of the absurdity of it all in the parody.

Check it out here:

This story is filled with lots of psychological themes that aren’t presented powerfully enough and instead of being poignant and world changing, they make this film a real chore to get through since the narrative is so weak.

Bottom Line – Terrible film that is known more for it’s sensual scenes than for its lack of a real and interesting story. Rourke and Basinger have horrendous chemistry together and something seems out of whack in their interactions throughout the film. The “food scene” is probably the most famous scene in this film and the idea works at the beginning but then gets completely out of hand. I’ve always loved the parody of this concept in Hot Shots (1992) despite never having actually seen this scene until now. The psychological aspects of this story should be more powerful than they are and instead of being a poignant film, it’s a chore to get through.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Director Adrian Lyne used emotionally manipulative tactics on Kim Basinger during the shooting to elicit the performance he wanted from the somewhat new actress, which Basinger later criticized harshly. For example, Lyne did not allow Mickey Rourke and Basinger to talk to each other off-set. The two were kept isolated from each other and Lyne would tell Basinger rumors about how Rourke intended to make her like or dislike him so that she would carry that attitude into the scene. Lyne would also offer Rourke performance notes, but Basinger none, in order to unnerve her. In a very unusual and expensive move along these lines, Lyne shot the film sequentially, so that Basinger’s actual emotional breakdown over time would be effectively translated to the screen. (From IMDB)

Rating – Razzie Worthy (3/10)