Indecent Proposal (1993) - ★★★☆☆

I am reminded today of my first ever endeavor into the blogosphere. It was only just over two years ago, believe it or not, and it was an assignment for my English class—we had to blog about whatever novel it was we chose to read—my choice was Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, and my blog was called Oops, I Sold My Wife!! (and it still exists!). Although my teacher may have taken issue with my prolific use of multi-media story-telling devices, I knew from the first moment that blogging was, in fact, right up my alley. 

Something else that was right up my alley, of course, was the decades-long tragedy depicted in Hardy's novel, which begins with a shock many readers find themselves unprepared for—Michael Henchard, the eventual mayor of Casterbridge himself—sells his wife for five guineas (a pretty low price! In 2018, that was equivalent to only 700 US dollars). Of course, for our friend Henchard, this sets off a chain of unimaginable tragedies, and because the author is Thomas Hardy, the reader knows from the start that things will only get worse. And they do! 

You see now, perhaps, why I've bothered to bring this up here. Anyone at all familiar with the plot of Indecent Proposal knows that a rather similar scene goes down in this film (albeit about halfway through, rather than within the first minutes of being introduced to the characters), when Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore agree to accept one million dollars from billionaire Robert Redford in return for Moore spending just one night with Redford. It's a much higher price, it isn't a permanent sale, and Moore consents to the transaction, unlike Henchard's wife, Susan.

Much like Henchard, however, Woody regrets their decision almost at once, but it's too late for him to do anything about it, for everything had already been ruined. As things continued to go wrong, I started to think that this movie might actually be pretty good. Beyond a bespectacled Woody Harrelson (quite possibly the only reason this movie has received its three stars), I was beginning to be happily reminded of some of my favorite books, all of which are fraught with tragedy that feels endless, and which reward their readers only the tiniest twinge of hope (if that!) at the end: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Crime and Punishment, Les Miserables, Villette, The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome—the list goes on. 

Of course, this 1993 blockbuster was too cowardly to become what I had hoped it would, and Woody and Demi disappointingly got a perfectly happy ending. For me, that's a movie-ruining offense. Too bad!

Here Woody enjoys one of my own favorite snacks—toast with peanut butter and bananas!