Indecent Proposal is a 1993 American film that includes adult themes. It was directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Amy Holden Jones. The story is based on a 1988 novel by Jack Engelhard, which follows a married couple whose relationship is affected when a stranger offers a million dollars for the wife to spend the night with him. The film features actors Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.

The movie was released by Paramount Pictures on April 7, 1993. Critics mostly gave it negative reviews because the story had unrealistic or forced elements. The film also caused controversy, as some feminists argued that its plot promoted the idea of treating women as property. However, the movie was very successful at the box office, making almost $267 million worldwide with a budget of $38 million. It became the sixth highest-grossing film of 1993.

Plot

David and Diana Murphy are married high school sweethearts living in California. Diana works as a real estate agent, and David wants to become an architect by designing their dream home. The couple uses all their money to buy beachfront property in Santa Monica, California, and starts building their home. However, a financial crisis leaves Diana without homes to sell and David without a job. To save their land from being taken by the bank, they travel to Las Vegas with their last savings to gamble for $50,000.

At a casino, Diana catches the attention of a wealthy gambler named John Gage, while David wins over $25,000 playing craps. Diana tells David she loves him no matter the money. The next day, they lose all their winnings at roulette. As they leave the casino, they see a crowd watching Gage play baccarat. Gage asks Diana to join him for good luck, and she wins a bet on his $1 million wager. Gage then pays for the Murphys’ stay at a luxurious hotel suite and gives Diana a dress she had admired. After spending time together, Gage offers the couple $1 million to let him spend a night with Diana. David refuses, but Diana later convinces him to accept the offer.

David contacts his lawyer to create a contract for the arrangement. He leaves Diana with Gage but changes his mind and rushes to stop them. He arrives just as they leave by helicopter. Gage takes Diana to his private yacht and offers her a chance to cancel the deal if he loses a toss of his lucky coin. He wins the toss, and Diana spends the night with him.

Returning home, the Murphys learn the bank has already taken their land. David accuses Diana of still seeing Gage after finding his business card in her wallet, which she denies. Diana later learns Gage bought their land and confronts him, rejecting his advances. When she tells David, their relationship ends, and Diana gives him the $1 million.

Weeks later, Gage visits Diana at work and tries to win her back. She eventually agrees to spend time with him, and they begin a romantic relationship. Meanwhile, David struggles with alcohol and reaches a low point, leading to a public argument with Gage and Diana. He regains control of his life, finds a teaching job, and files for divorce. At a zoo benefit event, David sees Diana with Gage and donates the $1 million to charity. He then reconciles with Diana and signs their divorce papers.

Gage lies to Diana, claiming she is just the latest member of his "million-dollar club" of women. Diana realizes his deception and ends their relationship. Before parting, Gage gives her his lucky coin, which she discovers is double-headed. Diana returns to the pier where David proposed to her seven years earlier, finding him there. They repeat their unique way of declaring love and join hands.

Production

Paramount Pictures purchased the rights to Jack Engelhard’s 1988 novel Indecent Proposal for $120,000. Adrian Lyne agreed to direct the film, working again with producer Sherry Lansing, who had previously collaborated with him on Fatal Attraction. Lyne had a disagreement with former collaborator Stanley Jaffe, who wanted the film released by Christmas 1992 and limited post-production time.

The film was initially planned to star Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, with Warren Beatty as John Gage. Kidman and Isabelle Adjani auditioned for the role of Diana. Cruise withdrew from the project due to rumors that the film’s themes conflicted with his new involvement in the Church of Scientology. Robert Redford accepted the role of Gage, but only if his character was portrayed as less of a villain. He declined a $4 million salary in favor of a share of the film’s box office earnings.

Johnny Depp, Tim Robbins, and William Baldwin were considered for the role of David Murphy. Woody Harrelson left Benny & Joon to join Indecent Proposal, leading to a lawsuit by MGM-Pathe Entertainment, which was resolved without going to court.

Screenwriter Amy Holden Jones stated that the film’s script underwent several changes in the third act, mostly made by men. Jones originally wrote the ending where Diana left Gage on her own, without Gage’s influence.

Jones explained, “I had trouble with the movie after David and Diana separated. The men in charge, especially Redford, made Gage more sympathetic. In my version, Diana realized she was Gage’s next target. She told him, ‘You can’t buy love,’ and left him. This was changed because Robert Redford could not be left alone.”

Jones added, “I believed Diana should leave both men at the end. I brought this up many times, even after the film was approved. No one took it seriously.”

William Goldman was brought in to work on the script after John Cusack declined. “They couldn’t find anyone else to do it,” he said. “I wrote a draft, and they didn’t change much. I don’t know why the actors chose to do it or not, but the film was a big success, so that’s good for me.”

Filming began in Las Vegas in June 1992, with casino scenes shot at the Westgate Las Vegas. After one month in Las Vegas, production moved to southern California, using locations such as the Echo Park neighborhood and a Santa Barbara mansion for Gage’s home.

Lyne included the book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women in a scene because its author, Susan Faludi, had previously criticized his film Fatal Attraction.

Post-production work was completed about two weeks before the film’s release in April 1993.

Engelhard’s novel included cultural conflicts not shown in the movie: the main character, Joshua, is Jewish, and his billionaire opponent is Arab. A New York Times review of the novel described its themes as “the sanctity of marriage versus the love of money, the Jew versus non-Jews such as shiksas and sheiks, skill versus luck, materialism versus spirituality, Israel versus Arab countries, the past versus the future, and the religious world versus the secular one.”

Reception

Indecent Proposal was a successful movie, earning $106,614,059 in the United States and Canada and $159,985,941 in other countries, for a total of $266,600,000 worldwide.

The film opened on 1,694 screens in the United States and Canada on April 7, 1993. It earned $18,387,632 during its first weekend, becoming the top movie in the United States for that week. It stayed number one for four weeks and was the sixth most successful movie of 1993. Some reporters believed the film's popularity was due to Paramount's marketing efforts and the movie's attention-grabbing story, which led to many discussions.

The film was released internationally on April 23, 1993. It previewed on 66 screens in Australia and earned $0.8 million (A$1.16 million) in three days, becoming the most successful movie in Australia that week. It officially opened in Australia on April 29 and stayed number one for four more weeks. In the United Kingdom, it earned $2.4 million (£1.5 million) during its first weekend, including previews, and remained number one for three weeks. In Italy, it had the second-largest opening ever for a Paramount/United International Pictures film, earning $1.6 million in its first weekend.

Critics did not like the movie. They said the story had unrealistic parts and the characters were not well developed. Some critics compared it to other movies that showed women being treated as property, such as Pretty Woman, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Mad Dog and Glory. One major criticism was that the movie did not fully explain its exciting idea. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the film was too cautious and that the main characters did not change much. She said the story did not explore its ideas deeply enough.

Anthony Brett of The Telegraph said the movie was not as exciting as it seemed and called it a boring romantic drama. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said the film started with an interesting idea but became a dull family story. He compared it to 9 1/2 Weeks and said the director should try something more daring next time.

Most critics praised Robert Redford's performance but said his character, John Gage, was too similar to his role in The Great Gatsby. Janet Maslin said Redford's character had a strong presence, like someone who has everything and enjoys testing others.

Critics said Michelle Pfeiffer gave a strong performance but that the script did not give her enough to work with. Some said her character, Diana, did not have enough depth. Kevin Costner's performance was criticized as weak, with some saying he had little to do except show love and jealousy. However, many praised the supporting actors, especially Oliver Platt as the Murphys' lawyer.

Many critics said the story lost its strength after the main deal happened. Nathan Rabin wrote in 2014 that the movie lacked important stakes because the money no longer seemed important after Diana returned. He said the film focused more on love than money.

The movie also faced criticism from feminists and others who said it showed a woman trading her body for her husband's benefit. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it "sexist propaganda." Betty Friedan and Callie Khouri said the film promoted ideas about prostitution. Susan Faludi said the main character's actions were like "raping a woman with money." Denise Di Novi said the film could be compared to a "women in prison" movie because the woman is in a controlled situation. Camille Paglia disagreed, saying the film's success showed a different view of women's sexuality.

Amy Holden Jones defended the film in The Los Angeles Times, saying Diana made her own choices and that some critics were biased. She said the film showed a realistic view of women's choices.

Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review, saying it had a romantic spirit even though the plot had flaws. He said the film was entertaining enough to make people want to watch it. Caryn James of The New York Times said the film was not perfect but was honest and entertaining. Janet Maslin said the film was not well written but was still engaging.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 35% approval rating, with critics saying it was mostly unimpressive but had some entertaining moments.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on April 6, 1993, by MCA Records. The song "In All the Right Places" by Lisa Stansfield was released as the album's first single on May 24, 1993, and is the film's theme song. Sheena Easton appears briefly in the movie, performing "The Nearness of You" during an important scene. The soundtrack is 60 minutes and 37 seconds long. The song "No Ordinary Love" by the English band Sade is also featured in the film, but it was not included on the soundtrack album. In 2015, Intrada Records released an album containing John Barry's score for the film.

Remake

On July 30, 2018, Paramount Players announced that a remake of the film was being worked on, and the screenplay was being written by Erin Cressida Wilson.

In popular culture

In 2002, The Simpsons aired an episode called "Half-Decent Proposal." This episode copies the movie's idea in a humorous way.

In the television series Mad About You, an episode titled "A Pair of Hearts" includes a scene during the end credits. A man offers Paul and Jamie Buchman, a married couple, one million dollars to sleep with Jamie. They quickly say "Sure!" and share a quick kiss before leaving with the man, which makes the audience laugh.

In the British sitcom Peep Show, an episode called "Conference" includes parts of the movie's story in its secondary storyline. Alan Johnson meets the girlfriend of his employee's flatmate and finds her attractive. He then enters Jeremy's room and offers him £530 to sleep with his girlfriend, Big Suze. Jeremy agrees at first but later tells Big Suze about the plan. She is upset and leaves Jeremy. Later, Jeremy visits Big Suze's house to apologize and finds Alan at the door wearing a bathrobe. It is revealed that Alan and Big Suze are now dating. At the end of the episode, Jeremy confronts Alan about the money he believes he was cheated out of. Alan gives Jeremy £380 from his wallet.

In the TV series Impractical Jokers, an episode called "Indecent Proposal" includes a challenge inspired by the movie. Sal Vulcano is forced to ask couples, while working as a dance instructor's assistant, if they would be willing to meet him in a more romantic setting for money.