Okay so this is a spanko blog, you can see where this is going. For anyone who hasn't watched the movie Secretary, why are you still sitting there reading this? Go rent it, now! Alright, that's as toppy as I'll get. I've always been a fan of James Spader. From the unlikeable pretty boy Steff in Pretty in Pink to the over the top nerdy Mr. Richards in Mannequin.
Sex Lies and Videotape, White Palace, Crash. He's clearly an actor who likes to keep off the beaten path. I was an avid fan of The Practice and have every season of Boston Legal on DVD. But it was after watching Secretary that James Spader earned a special place in my heart.
Secretary came out in 2002 and although I reside in the home state of the Sundance film festival, I didn't see it until several years later. I don't recall why it came up, but a coworker who was an independent film buff mentioned it. I went and got myself a copy and watched it many times. I always hid the DVD in my computer desk drawer, as if someone seeing I owned it would immediately out me as a spanko. Lol. But at the time, I had not come out into the lifestyle yet, didn't know there
was a lifestyle. One thing I did know was that the first spanking appears 49 minutes into the film. Seem a little exact? Go look it up. I've watched that scene a few times. ;-)
Secretary is about much more than spanking, of course. The dynamic between Edward and Lee's characters, played wonderfully by Maggie Gyllenhaal, is fascinating to watch. In more mainstream media, it seems that any characters into kink get portrayed as freaks.
The Killer Inside Me, anyone? This movie is the only one I've seen that seems to give a more accurate perspective of how these characters think and feel and that they are otherwise "normal" people.
I don't know what a vanilla person's perspective on this movie would be since I'm spanko minded, but I always notice the little details when watching this. How she intertwines her fingers with his after he first spanks her. The look on her face when she goes to look at her freshly spanked bottom in the mirror. His quiet but firm tone of voice. Her happiness at eating four peas as her family looks on in awe. Her cunning delight when she finally gets called into his office again after the worm incident.
In the overall picture of the movie, the spanking parts are brief. But the relationships between these characters is what pulls me in. And there are so many things that I can relate to. Upon seeing the part where she swats herself with the brush, I thought
other people have done that? Lol. The scene where Lee is making out with her boyfriend and tries to place his hand on her bottom but he keeps moving it up to her back. Then she even lays across his lap sticking her bottom up high which just makes him think she wants to have sex. That always makes me laugh.
Am I personally into everything that they do in the movie? No. Please don't tie me to a stove and throw tomatoes at me. But this kinky love story will always remain a favorite. So much so that I even borrowed her name as my own scene name.
Gasp. Yep, the cat is out of the bag, my name's not actually Lea. And don't even start with me on how I spelled it wrong... Lol. As for James Spader, I'm glad that he can delve into the unusual roles. E. Edward Grey will always be my favorite. And now, some memorable lines.
E. Edward Grey: Look, we can't do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Lee: Why not?
God, I love this movie.
11 comments:
I love this movie, too! I have it saved on my DVR (and protected from deletion).
However, I don't think that Lee or Edward were depicted as "normal" people. Lee was a cutter. Edward was incredibly eccentric. If I were to make the movie any better, I would have left out the cutting business as it suggests that spanking replaced one self-destructive behavior with another. And that's not how we really are.
But as far as mainstream spanking dynamics, this one ALMOST got it right for me. It's hot.
Oh, and I love James Spader, too. Mmmmm.
I am not a "spanko" (bordering closer to plain vanilla) still this is one of my favorite movies of all time! What I found interesting is not that these were normal people who found d/s to be perfect for them, rather they were off-kilter people who found normalcy through their relationship. To me it shows that you cannot try and put people into a one size fits all box and have them be able to function properly with those constraints in their lives. Just because a certain sexual activity is not for me does not make it wrong as along as both people (or more) in the relationship want it. It was just a great movie about individuality.
I too love James Spader and the off kilter roles he tends to choose. Both he and Maggie Gyllenhaal were fabulous in the film.
Lea:
I bought the DVD and watch it once in a while, not when mom is over. LOL
I appologize for the following vanilla comment:
My favorite Spader movie is Stargate.
Love his role as the geeky brilliant scientist.
hug,
joey
@Pink, that's a good point. I do agree on the spanking dynamics as well. I think part of my fascination with James Spader comes from thinking maybe he is a bit kinky in real life. With the roles he chooses, it's easy enough to imagine.
@Anonymous, thanks for reading! It is indeed a great movie all around, whatever one's reasons are for being drawn to it.
@joey, I am not much of a sci-fi fan, but I make an exception for Stargate since James Spader is in it. Same goes for the recent Terminator, I'll only watch the Christian Bale one. :-)
I love this movie as well. Granted, I do not care for how kinky people are portrayed as disturbed. And I didn't buy for one second that Mr. Grey could simply tell Lee not to cut herself anymore and she'd stop, just like that, after doing it for years. However... those two were such compelling characters. And I LOVED watching Lee blossom and bloom as the film went on.
Spader was brilliant on Boston Legal. I do wish he'd drop back to his Secretary weight, but that's just me. :-)
It really would be nice to see some mainstream movie or TV show that took our kink for granted and built the story around the characters or their storylines without passing judgment on the kinky parts. I really cringe when some one on, say, Bones, gives a final judgment on the BDSM community, as if to reassure their audience that they don't actually approve of it.
So, I have a love/hate relationship with The Secretary because it kind of assumes that spanking is part of some mild but weird mental illness.
That said, I'm still waiting for Maggie Gyllenhaal to throw herself over my lap. Boy, would she get a surprise!
@Erica, I agree. He's still cute when he's chubby though. :-)
@Rich Person, lol, I'm still waiting to run into James Spader as well.
Absolutely loved this movie! Must admit, the cutting scenes sort of made sense to me - if I think back how I was before making peace with myself - that frustration and hurt that can lead to some destructive behaviour was there.
I did not cut myself, however, I did become self destructive in some ways - like putting myself quite deliberately in the path of danger, although knowing better. Now - if I do something like this, or "living my deathwish" (quote as per Uncle Nick) - I cannot sit down for quite an extended period!
Hugs
Raven
I liked him best in Boston Legal - a tv show with frequent spanking references.
Hugs,
Hermione
@Raven Red, I hope you are sitting comfortably this week. Well, if you want to be anyway. :-)
@Hermione, yes Boston Legal rocks!
I remember on a TV interview back in 2003 or 2004 the host asked Spader if he has any fetishes and he responded, "I have several, but I'm not telling you what they are." You have to love James!
I would not be surprised if he has a few kinks (even being basically vanilla I have a few) particularly since he acknowledges he thinks about sex all the time...no wonder we love the guy. On top of that he is probably a wonderful lover; any one who can do sex scenes as well and smoothly as he does has to be.
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