While it has broken records, Fifty Shades still lingers in gray area

The Valentine’s weekend release of Fifty Shades of Grey was marketing genius. Not only did the film ride off the commercial success of the novel, but it also took advantage of the Valentine’s Day hype. Reeling in $93 million in less than a week, Fifty Shades grossed the highest amount of money for any film directed by a female.

But does that put her down in the history books as the most successful female director?

Not if you’ve ever watched any quality movies before.

I don’t disapprove of the bondage and unabashed sexual appetites in Fifty Shades, simply because those are natural human instincts — nothing to be ashamed of. What bothers me is that Fifty Shades is not a lasting work of film.

In 20 years, we won’t be analyzing the carefully composed shot of Christian Grey showing his pube hairs, nor will we be exploring the subtext of Christian’s and Anastasia’s dirty sex-talk. Fifty Shades earns money because it broaches a fairly taboo topic — deviant sexual practices.

And that’ll definitely lead to an…interesting path for mainstream media. Fifty Shades is considered a romance, but it’s really much more about sexual attraction than it is about real love (not that those two are completely different entities, but that’s a whole other argument).

What I’m trying to say is that Fifty Shades will tell you a lot about things you can do in the bedroom, but it won’t give you any insight on real-life, under-the-broad-daylight relationships. If you want some sexual fantasy in your life, I recommend a dose of Fifty Shades. But if you want to connect with real people about real issues, I recommend the classic When Harry Met Sally.