When Lee Holloway gets a job as a secretary in a small firm she does her best to please. However, her new boss finds fault with her typing and administers a rather unconventional kind of punishment. Soon Lee realises that she is not only becoming the perfect secretary, but also the woman she always wanted to be. Daring, sexy and provocative, this award winning film is a must for all those who have had a hard day at work

This is a very different movie about a woman who gets a job as a secretary. It seems the more the boss abuses here (he loves to read circle her typos), the more she enjoys it. It gets to the point where her boss finally starts spanking her. This changes her psyche and she no longer is attracted to her fiancée, who thinks it is a joke when she requests he spank her.

What this movie does is explore the possibility that a lifestyle built around S&M is an acceptable alternative, "normal" for the right set of people. Lee and Mr Grey are one of the right sets of people. He is the "S", she is the "M", and together they eventually find, they fit. He begins to lose his guilt for some of his "abnormal behaviour", she realizes the power she has as a person. After one encounter Mr Grey says, "But we can't do this every day." Lee asks, "Why not?" They do get married, he goes off to work each day, presumably with a more traditional secretary, while she muses about what the end of the day will bring.

My thoughts

The film is very funny yet sexually charged, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and James Spader are very good in these roles, and they match each other perfectly.