Proposition indécente

Provocative premise receives stylish treatment from director Adrian Lyne; this film has a luxurious, almost sensuous texture, part of which comes from the ultra-glossy cinematography, and part from Demi Moore, who was at the time at the peak of her beauty and at the top of the world in her career (her hairstyle is amazing in this film). Oliver Platt, as the comic relief, gets in some funny lines. But the movie is not all surface - there is plenty of food for discussion in its themes, if one is so inclined. *** out of 4.

Adrian Lyne does what he does beautifully, whatever that is. The gorgeous look of his films hide a serious lack of depth and a rather Machiavellian knack for attracting us, the natives, with shiny pretty things. We fall for it every time, or almost, we couldn't swallow Lolita, oh no, he should have left Lolita alone and shouldn't have made that outrageous statement, remember? "James Mason was all wrong in Kubrick's version of the Nabokov novel" Do me a favor Mr. Lyne, stick to "Flashdance" and suffer all the way to the bank. Sorry, I lost myself for a moment. Where was I? Oh yes "Inidecent Proposal" Imagine that premise in the hands of someone with serious intentions. A young happy couple and the devil. The stranger who, incapable of bearing goodness and happiness, decides to destroy it. Aware of their needs, he presents a solution to their problems. He doesn't care for her, he cares about their destruction. Juicy stuff. But, although Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson are great as the perfect foil for the devil's designs, the devil is Robert Redford. Mr. Redford is a personal hero of mine, instead of resting in his laurels, Sundance, the environment, Ordinary People, Quiz Show and so on and so on. But, I heard him say in a Charlie Rose interview that he would like to play different characters, dangerous, dark but nobody offered him that kind of part. What about this one Bob? This was a part that could transform this pretty candy floss into a classic. It needed guts. Where was the darkness? I looked into Redford eyes and I saw Redford. I would have gone with him for much less than a million bucks because in spite of the fact that involved accepting an indecent proposal there was no danger, really. He allows himself to be Redford all the way. The indecency is in the title in the gimmick but not in the spirit. As a result none of the promises are fulfilled and we're left with a pretty inconsequential movie. Oh well, I hope Mr Lyne learned his lesson. One never bad mouths James Mason, okay?

Cotton candy involving a loving couple (bordering on good buddies) who lose their shirts in Las Vegas but get a chance to recoup when a world-famous billionaire makes a play for the wife--with booty attached! Great set-up for a story that takes a slow spiral downward once the couple returns home (to a rather lovely cottage in Southern California). Some sparks from principals Robert Redford and Demi Moore, but Woody Harrelson is out of his league and Adrian Lyne's direction is all visual and nothing much upstairs (and I could've done without the horse-racing video suddenly morphing into a shot of Demi in "the act"). The film is shamefully enjoyable, and capped with teen-romance fever, but aren't these characters a little old for moony-eyed puppy love? ** from ****

I'm only writing a review to share the humorist Erma Bombeck's observation.

In one of her last columns before her passing, she mentioned that she and her husband had gone to see this movie.

As they were driving home, her husband asked "Well? Would you?" "Would I what?" she asked.

"Would you sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars?" "It depends," she said.

Her husband was shocked. "DEPENDS?" he choked. "Depends on WHAT?" "Depends on whether he'd let me make monthly payments..." she replied.

I passed root beer through my nose when I read that - had to share.

Terribly underrated movie. Although the basic premise is somewhat unrealistic, consequences are something many couples, if not the majority of them, can relate to. Almost everyone at least once had essentially similar situation, regardless of the fact that specific circumstances were different. If nothing else, Woody, Demi, and Robert are enough reason to see this film.

8/10