The Fifty Shades of Grey franchise may have earned a combined total well north of a billion dollars at the box office, but the fact all three installments were equally terrible means they don’t stand a chance of being the greatest movies revolving around sadomasochism to hit the mainstream, not when Steven Shainberg’s Secretary is right there.
It wasn’t quite a massive commercial success when it first released in September of 2002, but it did recoup its modest $4 million budget twice over and then some, riding a wave of critical acclaim all the way to cult classic status. Unfortunately, it was also widely reported to be one of Armie Hammer’s favorite films, which tells us a great deal more than it reasonably should.
Bolstered by a breakthrough performance from Maggie Gyllenhaal and a perfectly-pitched James Spader turn, Secretary finds the former’s Lee Holloway released into the care of her parents following a stay at a psychiatric institution, where she ends up landing a job working for the latter’s E. Edward Grey.
Unexpected sparks fly between employer and employee, though, and their relationship begins to blossom under the most unlikely of circumstances. As kinky as it may be, Secretary is a romantic comedy and a love story first and foremost, with the more erotic aspects handled deftly by the cast and creatives, ensuring that it’s never sensational just for the sake of it.
More than 20 years on, and the fact it’s currently flying high as one of the most-watched features on Starz (per FlixPatrol) highlights that it’s got some serious staying power among audiences, especially those in favor of a little light spanking every now and again.