(1986)
2.5
Derek Armstrong
9 1/2 Weeks has a lot more cultural importance as a titillating zeitgeist film than anything else; at the time Adrian Lyne's movie came out, everyone seemed aware of it, and teeth chattered about the steamy sex scenes involving the soft caresses of food along Kim Basinger's skin. After the water dropping on Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, Lyne again proves his ability to frame indelible cinematic images that get people talking (and satirists spoofing), helped this time in the screenwriting department by future master of soft-core erotica Zalman King. There's little in the way of plot propelling this film -- it's mostly a bunch of sweaty and gymnastic interludes between Basinger and Mickey Rourke, shot in sultry late-afternoon light by Lyne, with an eye for moodiness and intrigue. If it weren't for the presence of A-listers Lyne, Basinger, and Rourke (though his trip toward the B-list was well underway), 9 1/2 Weeks would probably have been exposed as a tawdry sex fantasy rather than the artsy experiment in human sexuality that some approving critics considered it. Instead, it became a phenomenon of cultural schlock, giving Rourke one of his most notorious roles (which prompted further ventures into erotic-noir), and positioning Basinger as a sexual icon and budding star. Rourke returned for the sequel, Basinger didn't -- which says a lot about their differing career trajectories after this film.
9 1/2 Weeks on AllMovie
9 1/2 Weeks (1986)
