The "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie adaptation stays close to the book. A little too close, perhaps, when it includes garbage dialogue like "Laters, baby," and at least one cry of "Holy cow!" The differences between the novel and the film mostly lie in the sex scenes, a few of which were removed completely. (Mr. Skin notes that about 20 minutes of the film's 125 include sex.) But a few of the major changes make Ana (Dakota Johnson) and Christian's (Jamie Dornan) relationship more confusing on-screen, and it's difficult to tell why and how they even like each other.
Spoilers ahead, but here are all the differences between "Fifty Shades of Grey" book and movie:
Rules about eating and exercising
A major part of the contract described in the book focuses on Ana's eating and exercising habits. Christian has a troubled but unexplained relationship with food and is obsessed with Ana's appetite. At nearly every meal, he asks her if and what she's eaten that day, demanding she eat in front of him. Her contract states she must eat from a prescribed list of foods and will not snack between meals, "with the exception of fruit." Christian also wants her to work four times a week with a personal trainer of his choosing. She negotiates him down. None of this is in the movie.
The first spanking scene
In both the book and the movie, Christian spanks Ana for the first time when she rolls her eyes at him. In the film, this occurs after her graduation, and he leaves her just after the act. In the book, they have sex and Ana has an orgasm, calling the experience "exquisite." Hours later, Christian leaves and she's in tears. In E.L. James' version, Christian comes back to Ana's apartment after they exchange emails. He comforts her, and though it's unclear if the entire experience was a positive one, she's at least placated by his presence. In the movie, not so much, as they don't have sex and he never returns.
No Ben Wa balls
"I'm going to put these inside you, and then I'm going to spank you, not for punishment, but for your pleasure and mine," Christian says to Ana, just before he inserts the Ben Wa balls inside Ana, in the book. She really likes these balls! She likes the spanking! She orgasms! This is one of the first scenes where we can really see that Ana is enjoying what Christian's asking of her. Though it makes sense to cut a scene like this -- the MPAA is probably anti-Ben Wa balls -- its absence isn't substituted by other scenes that show Ana explicitly experiencing pleasure.
Ana's computer skills
In the book, Ana doesn't know a laptop from her clitoris. "Internet! I don't have access to a computer," her internal monologue screams when Christian asks her to research BDSM. In the film, she just says her computer is on the fritz. In both versions, he buys her a laptop. Book Ana calls it the "Mean Machine."
There is no inner goddess.
This is for the best.
Movie Christian has a mirror above his bed
This may not seem like a big deal, but Dornan's Christian has a ceiling mirror in his bedroom. We see it when he and Ana have "vanilla" sex for the first time. It's also the first time Ana has sex and the first time Christian's ever had a woman in his bedroom. If that's the case, then the only thing this narcissist is doing with a mirror above his bed is watching himself masturbate. Just sayin'.
She agrees to be his submissive during her college graduation
Nope. The film shows Ana consenting to be Christian's submissive during her college graduation. He hands out diplomas on stage and she says "Okay." In the novel, she agrees after the ceremony, not in front of hundreds of her peers. "I'm Eve in the Garden of Eden and he's the serpent, and I cannot resist," James writes.
Ana goes to the Grey house with underwear
On paper, Christian steals Ana's underwear so she has to go commando to his parents' house for dinner. It's assumed that she gets to keep them in the movie.
No sex at his parents' house
At the dinner, Christian is furious with Ana after she doesn't let him touch her under the table and tells him she's going to Georgia to visit her mother. He takes her for a "tour of the grounds" and in the book, they have sex in a boathouse, though Christian threatens to spank Ana if she orgasms. No boathouse sex in the film.
No tampon scene
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson revealed that scene -- the one in which Christian pulls out Ana's tampon to have sex with her in a hotel in Georgia after he stalks her visit to see her mother -- was cut from the movie in an interview last month. "It was never even discussed," she told Variety. Though it would have been fun to see audiences squirm, pulling the scene made sense for the film.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" hits theaters Feb. 13.
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