9 1/2 Weeks (1986)

Mickey Rourke has The Juice in 9 1/2 Weeks.

The French consider Mickey Rourke America's greatest actor. In the 80s, they loved him for his "cool, his on-screen cruelty, his seediness, his sexual depravity" (New York Times Magazine, 11/30/08), and for his "rumpled, slightly dirty, sordid. . . rebel persona (Mickey Rourke Biography - Yahoo! Movies). Just don't ask Rourke if he considers the French "more enlightened" than American filmgoers.

After recently experiencing Rourke's newest film, The Wrestler at the Denver Film Festival, I revisited 9 1/2 Weeks. It is much better than I remembered it, and not as controversial as it once was. It goes without saying that Rourke's name has become synonymous with his roles as Robert 'Boogie' Sheftell in Diner, Charlie Moran in The Pope of Greenwich Village, John Gray in 9 1/2 Weeks, James Wheeler in Wild Orchid, and Marv in Sin City.

Directed by Adrian Lyne (known for Flashdance), Fatal Attraction), 9 1/2 Weeks (1986) chronicles the erotically-charged relationship between Wall Street investor John Grey (Rourke) and divorced art gallery assistant, Elizabeth McGraw (Kim Basinger). Their doomed nine-and-a-half-week relationship culminates in Elizabeth's eventual emotional breakdown after John wants to have sex with a prostitute in front of her in a seedy room at the Chelsea Hotel. Upon its initial release, the film was considered controversial for its scenes depicting various sexual and erotic acts that throw Elizabeth's world into chaos. In one scene John teases Elizabeth while she's blindfolded. In another, John feeds her various kinds of foods while her eyes are closed. In another, they have sex in an alley. In another, Basinger's character strips to Joe Cocker's song, "You Can Leave Your Hat On." While I've read that other scenes were cut because the studio deemed them too "psychologically damaging," the scenes actually contained within the film are pretty tame by today's standards. Ironically, despite their physical intimacy, John and Elizabeth part ways as perfect strangers to each other. It is this aspect of the film that makes 9 1/2 Weeks such a emotionally compelling experience. The soundtrack also includes classic 80s songs by Luba, Bryan Ferry, Dalbello, Corey Hart, Joe Cocker, Devo, the Eurythmics, Stewart Copeland, and Jean Michel Jarre. Highly recommended as a quintessential 80s film.

G. Merritt December 6, 2008

Zzzzzzzz

Elizabeth (Kim Bassinger) works at a trendy art gallery in New York City. She meets John (Mickey Rourke), a mysterious, wealthy stranger, and they begin a torrid affair. He's into game playing; he likes to tell her what to do and she does it, even when it scares her. He wants to control her in every way and she lets him...for nine and a half weeks.

When this came out in 1986, it was considered shocking; today one can see almost this much sensuality on TV and certainly in many movies so its impact has diminished. The steamy, dangerous, erotic night scenes contrast nicely with the cold, sterile day scenes of Elizabeth's work. The photography is striking with costumes and sets in stark black and white and close-ups designed to heighten our sensory awareness. Bassinger and Rourke are well-cast but I didn't care about or like either of them. Their situation seemed sad and repellent.

The movie could certainly be titillating, but I found it upsetting and scary and sometimes even boring. September 30, 2008

Satisfied.

Everything went according to expectations. Price was reasonable, shipping time was excellent and everything went well. September 6, 2008

Smoking Hot!

I had always heard about this movie, but had never seen it until recently.
All I can say is Wow! Erotic, passionate, thrilling, sexy. It did not dissapoint my husband and I. I recommend it for adult couples who want to be teased and intrigued. Mickey Rourke is both sexy and scary and fascinating. You do not know what his intentions are, whether he is going to hurt Kim, or Kill her or just make love to her! And Kim Basinger is so adorable, vulnerable, sexy and amazing.
The refrigerator scene is my favorite. I dont recommend you watch this with children under the age of 18. Its too STEAMY!
I recommend Adults add this one to their DVD collection and watch the sparks fly! July 3, 2008

Looking for Mickey Rourke

I was 14 when I saw this for the first time (1986). I knew of both the actors, Mickey Rourke from Rumble Fish and Kim Basinger from Never Say Never Again but I saw the movie because I'd read that John Taylor from Duran Duran had written a song specifically for the soundtrack and I loved him. Mickey Rourke woke me from my childhood crush and caused a lot of problems for me as I went search for my own private Rourke. The soundtrack carries the film, as does the cruelness of Mickey Rourke's character and game playing. March 17, 2008

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