Indecent Proposal (1993)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Amy Holden Jones, based on the novel by Jack Engelhard
Directed by Adrian Lyne
Starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Platt & Seymour Cassel

Features:

• Running audio commentary by director Lyne
  

Released by: Paramount.
Rating: R
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Rent it.

David and Diana Murphy (Harrelson and Moore, respectively) are a happily married couple who, while on vacation, are presented with an incredible moral dilemma. It seems that John Gage (Redford) gets a look at Diana and decides that he must have her. He offers the couple $1 million for one night of passion with Diana with no questions asked. The couple discuss the matter and decide that their relationship is strong enough to go through with it; after all, it's only one night right? It seems that they underestimate Mr. Gage considerably.

This is one of those movies that everybody saw back in the early 90s and gets pretty regular airplay on some of the cable networks about every month or so. It's not really that strong of a movie, and in the hands of a lesser cast, it probably would have been horrible. Redford is outstanding. It's not the best performance of his career, but it certainly isn't something he should be ashamed of either. Harrelson is adequate in his role of the distraught husband, but he spends the second half of the movie in a kind of angst that he doesn't seem to know what else to do with--just a one-note performance. He seems to be spending most of his time trying to feel something rather than focusing on doing something. Moore is also adequate in her role, playing quite well the good wife that is seduced away from her husband.

The DVD does manage to have one special feature, and for posterity's sake, it is a decent one. Lyne is on board for a running audio commentary, and granted, he is coming back to the work after a nearly ten year separation--and as such, he seems to spend most of the commentary talking about where they shot certain scenes, and working with the actors--but doesn't really go into much detail about his ideas behind the movie and why he chose to do it. So the commentary itself is adequate and probably of interest to the die-hard follower of Lyne's work, but it's not exceptional.

That having been said, if you liked the movie when it came out, you will probably enjoy watching this movie again with director's commentary, but you would have to fall into one of the die-hard Redford, Moore, or Harrelson fanclubs to lay down the money for this DVD as a purchase. It's a better rental.