Indecent Proposal

Indecent Proposal is a 1993 American erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Amy Holden Jones. It is based on the 1988 novel by Jack Engelhard, in which a couple's marriage is disrupted by a stranger's offer of a million dollars for the wife to spend the night with him. It stars Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.[1][2] It received mostly negative reviews, but was a box-office success, grossing nearly $267 million worldwide on a $38 million budget.

This article is about the film. For the album by Timbaland & Magoo, see Indecent Proposal (album).
Indecent Proposal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAdrian Lyne
Screenplay byAmy Holden Jones
Based onIndecent Proposal
by Jack Engelhard
Produced bySherry Lansing
Michael Tadross
Starring
CinematographyHoward Atherton
Edited byJoe Hutshing
Music byJohn Barry
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • April 7, 1993 (1993-04-07)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$38 million
Box office$266.6 million

Plot

David and Diana Murphy are married high school sweethearts living in California. Diana works as a real estate agent, while David hopes to establish himself as an architect by designing their dream home. The couple invest everything they have in David's project, purchasing beachfront property in Santa Monica and beginning construction, but the recession leaves Diana without houses to sell and David without a job. In desperate need of $50,000 to save their land from being repossessed, they travel to Las Vegas, determined to win the money.

At a casino, Diana catches the eye of billionaire John Gage, while David wins over $25,000 at craps. Reveling in their winnings, Diana assures David that she loves him regardless of the money. The next day, they lose everything at roulette; leaving the casino, they notice a crowd gathered to watch Gage play poker. Gage asks Diana to join him for good luck, and she makes a winning craps roll on his $1 million bet. As thanks, Gage insists on paying for the Murphys' stay, giving them a lavish hotel suite and a dress he saw Diana admire. After an enjoyable evening together, Gage offers the couple $1 million to allow him to spend a night with Diana, but she and David refuse.

Diana works very hard to convince David to let her go to the billionaire, and she finally gets him to agree to Gage's proposal. David contacts his lawyer, who prepares a contract for the arrangement. Leaving Diana with Gage, David has a change of heart and races to stop them, but arrives just as they depart by helicopter. Gage flies Diana to his private yacht, and offers her a chance to void their deal and return to her husband if he loses a toss of his lucky coin. He wins the toss, and Diana spends the night with him.

Agreeing to forget the incident, the Murphys return home, and learn their property was foreclosed and resold. Overcome with jealousy, David accuses Diana of continuing to see Gage after finding his business card in her wallet, which she denies knowing about. Discovering that it was Gage who bought out their land, Diana angrily confronts him, and rejects his attempts to pursue her. When she informs David, their tension reaches a breaking point and they separate; Diana later tells him to keep all the money.

Weeks later, Gage visits Diana at work and renews his advances. Initially resistant, she eventually consents to spending time with him, and a romance develops between them. Haunted by happy memories of his wife, David hits rock bottom, leading to a public confrontation with Gage and Diana. He pulls his life back together and finds a teaching position, and Diana files for divorce. Finding her at a zoo benefit with Gage, David donates the entire $1 million in a charity auction bid, then makes his peace with Diana and signs their divorce papers.

Realizing that Diana will never love him the way she loves David, Gage lies to her that she is merely the latest member of his "million-dollar club" of women. Seeing through his deception, she gratefully ends their relationship; before parting ways, he gives her his lucky coin, which she realizes is double-headed. Diana returns to the pier where David proposed to her seven years earlier, finding him there. Repeating their unique declaration of love, they join hands.

Cast

Release

Box office

Indecent Proposal was a box office success, grossing $106,614,059 in the US and Canada and $160,000,000 internationally for a worldwide total of over $266,000,000.[6][7]

The film opened on 1,694 screens in the United States and Canada on April 7, 1993 and grossed $18,387,632 in its opening weekend to top the US box office, the biggest opening at the time for an April release. It was number one for four weeks.[6]

It entered international release on April 23, 1993 when it previewed on 66 screens in Australia for the weekend. Despite only playing for three days, it topped the Australian box office for the week with a three-day gross of $0.8 million (A$1.16 million).[8][9] It officially opened in Australia on April 29 and remained at number one for four more weeks.[10] In the UK, it also benefited from previews in topping the UK box office with an opening weekend gross of $2.4 million (£1.5 million) including previews.[11][12] It remained number one in the UK for three weeks.[13] In Italy it was Paramount/United International Pictures' second biggest ever opening with an opening weekend gross of $1.6 million.[11]

Critical reception

It received generally negative reviews from critics.[14] Gene Siskel gave it thumbs down, but Roger Ebert gave it thumbs up, on Siskel & Ebert;[15] Ebert also wrote a positive print review.[16] Susan Faludi, a feminist writer, objected to the movie's positioning of the female character. Another feminist characterized it as a women in prison film.[17]

Indecent Proposal has a 34% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The consensus reads: "Lurid but acted with gusto, Indecent Proposal has difficulty keeping it up beyond its initial titillating premise."[18] Audience response was less negative, with those polled by CinemaScore giving an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[19] The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the "100 most enjoyably worst movies ever made".[20]

Awards and nominations
Award Category Recipient Result
BMI Film & TV Awards BMI Film Music Award John Barry Won
Golden Raspberry Awards[21] Worst Picture Sherry Lansing Won
Worst Director Adrian Lyne Nominated
Worst Actor Robert Redford Nominated
Worst Actress Demi Moore Nominated
Worst Supporting Actor Woody Harrelson Won
Worst Screenplay Screenplay by Amy Holden Jones;
Based on the novel by Jack Engelhard		 Won
Worst Original Song "(You Love Me) In All the Right Places"
Music by John Barry;
Lyrics by Lisa Stansfield, Ian Devaney & Andy Morris		 Nominated
Golden Screen Awards Won
MTV Movie Awards Best Female Performance Demi Moore Nominated
Most Desirable Female Nominated
Best Kiss Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson Won
Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Worst Actor Robert Redford Nominated
Worst Actress Demi Moore Nominated
Yoga Awards Worst Foreign Film Adrian Lyne Won

Differences between novel and film

Engelhard's novel contained cultural friction that the screenwriter left out of the movie: the main character, named Joshua, is Jewish, and his billionaire foil is Arab. In a review of the novel, The New York Times summarized its themes as "the sanctity of marriage versus the love of money, the Jew versus significant non-Jews such as shiksas and sheiks, skill versus luck, materialism versus spirituality, Israel versus the Arab countries, the past versus the future, and the religious world versus the secular one."[22]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on April 6, 1993, by MCA Records. "In All the Right Places" by Lisa Stansfield was released as the album's lead single on May 24, 1993, and is the film's theme song. Sheena Easton makes a cameo appearance in the movie performing "The Nearness of You" at a pivotal part of the movie. The length of the soundtrack is 60 minutes and 37 seconds. "No Ordinary Love" by English band Sade was also prominently featured in the film, though it was not included on its soundtrack album.

In 2015 Intrada Records released an album of John Barry's score.

Indecent Proposal: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I'm Not in Love" (The Pretenders)Graham Gouldman, Eric StewartTrevor Horn3:50
2."What Do You Want the Girl to Do" (Vince Gill featuring Little Feat)Allen ToussaintTony Brown5:07
3."If I'm Not in Love With You" (Dawn Thomas)ThomasScott Sheriff3:38
4."Out of the Window" (Seal)SealHorn5:35
5."Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (Bryan Ferry)Gerry Goffin, Carole KingRobin Trower4:15
6."The Nearness of You" (Sheena Easton)Hoagy Carmichael, Ned WashingtonPatrice Rushen3:16
7."In All the Right Places" (Lisa Stansfield)John Barry, Stansfield, Ian Devaney, Andy MorrisDevaney5:42
8."Instrumental Suite from Indecent Proposal"BarryBarry25:20
9."A Love So Beautiful" (Roy Orbison)Jeff Lynne, OrbisonLynne3:31
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[23] 67
Dutch Albums Chart[24] 71
US Billboard 200[25] 137

Remake

On July 30, 2018, Paramount Players announced that a remake of the film was in development, with the screenplay being written by Erin Cressida Wilson.[26][27]

The animation series The Simpsons's 2002 episode "Half-Decent Proposal" parodies the movie's premise.

In the television series Mad About You, "A Pair of Hearts", during the end credits, the married couple Paul and Jamie Buchman are approached by a man who offers a million dollars to sleep with Jamie. They immediately reply "Sure!", and, after a quick smooch, Jamie leaves with the man (to the laughter of the audience).

See also

References
  1. Galbraith, Jane (1993-05-01). "Movies: While feminists, columnists and the public argue the merits of 'Indecent Proposal,' the film's grosses keep climbing". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  2. "Baldwin In Line For 'Indecent Proposal'". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2012-09-08. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  3. Goldstein, Patrick (1993-04-18). "For Some, the Signs Are Unsettling". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  4. Goodall, Nigel (2000). Demi Moore - The Most Powerful Woman in Hollywood. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1840182699. Archived from the original on 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  5. Willis, John A. (2000). Screen World 1993. Vol. 44 (1st ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1557831750. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  6. "Indecent Proposal". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
  7. Wells, Jeffrey (1993-04-13). "Movies: The reviews panned 'Indecent Proposal,' but the box office generated $24 million in five days. Star power didn't hurt". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  8. "Indecent Down-under". Screen International. 7 May 1993. p. 47.
  9. "International box office". Variety. 3 May 1993. p. 34. $825,883; $A1=$0.71
  10. "International box office". Variety. 7 June 1993. p. 32.
  11. "Indecent gross". Screen International. 21 May 1993. p. 25.
  12. "European box office". Variety. 24 May 1993. p. 39. £1=$1.57
  13. "European box office". Variety. 14 June 1993. p. 43.
  14. Ebert, Roger (1993-04-25). "Moviegoers take pleasure in fantasy". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  15. Siskel, Gene, Ebert, Roger. Review (Television production). United States: Bventertainment.go.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-21. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  16. Ebert, Roger (1993-04-07). "Indecent Proposal". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  17. Goldstein, Patrick (1993-04-18). "A flurry of recent women-as-barter movies looks like a disturbing trend to feminists, but these films are finding an audience--Indecent Proposal earned $24 million in five days. Are these movies merely a manifestation of the fantasies of the men who run the studios--or do they represent something much more serious? For some, the signs are unsettling". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  18. "Indecent Proposal (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  19. "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". 2018-12-20. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  20. Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0-446-69334-0.
  21. "1993 RAZZIEŽ Nominees & "Winners"". The Official RAZZIEŽ Forum. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  22. New York Times Book Review. "From the Author" Archived 2021-06-28 at the Wayback Machine, as presented by Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2010-07-23.
  23. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  24. "Soundtrack - Indecent Proposal". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  25. "Original Soundtrack: Indecent Proposal". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  26. "Indecent remake". The Telegraph India. August 3, 2018. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  27. "'Indecent Proposal' Remake In Development By Paramount Players". Forbes. 30 July 2018. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
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