Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
9½ Weeks (originally titled Nine ½ Weeks) is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne with a screenplay by Sarah Kernochan, Zalman King, and Patricia Louisanna Knop. The film is based on the 1978 memoir of the same name by Austrian-American author Ingeborg Day. It stars Kim Basinger as Elizabeth McGraw and Mickey Rourke as John Gray. McGraw is a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wall Street broker. The film was completed in 1984, but not released until February 1986.
Considered too explicit by its American distributor, and cut for U.S. release, the film was a box office bomb in the U.S, grossing only $6.7 million at the box office[3] on a $17 million budget. It also received mixed reviews at the time of its release. However it became a huge success internationally in its unedited version, particularly in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, making $100 million worldwide.[2] It has also acquired a large fanbase on video and DVD and has developed a cult following.[4]
The film spawned a direct-to-video sequel, Another 9½ Weeks (1997) and a direct-to-video prequel The First 9½ Weeks (1998).
Cast
Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger.
- Kim Basinger as Elizabeth McGraw
- Mickey Rourke as John Gray
- Margaret Whitton as Molly
- David Margulies as Harvey
- Christine Baranski as Thea
- Karen Young as Sue
- William DeAcutis as Ted
- Dwight Weist as Farnsworth
- Roderick Cook as Sinclair
- Victor Truro as Gallery Client
Critical reception
9½ Weeks has a 64% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews.
The film was championed by some critics. Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it three and a half stars out of four, stating: "A lot of the success of 9½ Weeks is because Rourke and Basinger make the characters and their relationship convincing." He further elaborated by saying that their relationship was believable, and unlike many other characters in other erotic films at that time, the characters in this movie are much more real and human.
Over time, some critics have warmed to the film and audiences gave it somewhat of a legacy thanks to its success in the rental market. It performed very well in Europe, particularly in Italy, France and also in Latin America. Its success in France was so strong that it played for five years at a Paris cinema, earning approximately $100 million.[7] In São Paulo, Brazil, it played for 30 months in the cult movie house Cine Belas Artes from 1986 to 1989.
Accolades
The film was nominated for three categories at the 1986 Golden Raspberry Awards, Worst Actress (Kim Basinger, who lost to Madonna for Shanghai Surprise), Worst Original Song("I Do What I Do" by Jonathan Elias, John Taylor, Michael Des Barres, which lost to "Love or Money" from Under the Cherry Moon), and Worst Screenplay (Patricia Louisiana Knop, Zalman King, Sarah Kernochan, which lost to Howard the Duck). The film gained a huge following on home video, and regardless of its reception, both Basinger and Rourke became huge stars.
