Review of "Indecent Proposal," VHS version

Review of

Indecent Proposal, VHS version


Five out of five stars

 When this movie came out, there were many people that derided the plot device of a man offering a married couple a million dollars for a night with the wife. Their claim was that it was immoral and truly indecent. That is too bad, for it misses the real messages of the movie.

 First and foremost, this movie is about the power that money gives the rich over those that are down on their luck and are desperate. They are willing to grasp at any chance they have to right their errant financial ship. Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson play Diana and David Murphy, a married couple that go to Las Vegas with their last stake in the hope that they will win big enough to pay themselves out of their financial hole. When this doesn’t work, John Gage (Robert Redford) offers them a million dollars for a night of passion with Diana. After a reality gut-check, the couple agrees to the proposal.

 Tensions mount between the couple afterwards and the course of their relationship sours. It becomes a test of what they believe about each other and how they will weather the emotional consequences of selling out. In the end, the movie becomes a complicated love story.

 Mao Zedong famously said, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” What this movie illustrates is that all power grows out of the pile of cash available. When people are down and desperate, the person that can offer massive amounts of money has the power. After all, there must be a way for those seeking power to pay for the guns and ammunition.