9 1/2 WEEKS (1986)

9 ½ weeks should be a sensual movie for me, but I found it very irritating and self-conscious; as a result, there were parts that were really sensual, but for the most part, I found it over the top and annoying. I’m not sure why I reacted this way because there were many things that reminded me of The Secretary, which I found very sensual. I finally decided it was the actor who kept this movie from working for me. I just wanted to wipe that obnoxious smirk off his face. I think James Spader, who had much the same role in The Secretary, was more detached and not offensive. This guy is contrived (cooking with no shirt?) and controlling (one scene was pretty close to rape, I thought). I felt that something terrible was going to happen all the time.

That said, there were some wonderful sensual scenes. I loved that he bought her the beautiful scarf she had so admired at the market. I loved the honey / kissing scene, and I thought Elizabeth’s strip tease was fun and fantastic. (That was the only time I actually liked John. He was honestly laughing and enjoying himself.) The wet t-shirt scene followed by sex was great, as was the three-way sex scene.So if John could have learned to laugh instead of smirk and could have lost the need to be in absolute control, this movie could have been a sensual treat.