This self-serious and ultimately pedestrian satire is about the edgy relationship between highly repressed, domination-minded boss E. Edward Grey (James Spader) and his more-than-willing new secretary, Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal). She's just the latest in a line of secretaries who have tried working for Mr. Grey and failed because of the, um, stuff he does to them when they've disappointed him. Turns out, Lee has just had a spell in a mental hospital. So, in this script's code, she has a license to be a little crazy.
Surprise, surprise, when Mr. Grey berates and chides her for such office peccadilloes as making typos, she doesn't mind at all. She deserves to be straightened out. Seems these two were made for each other. One slipper on the bum can lead you all the way to the pearly gates of self-affirmation. Now there's a take-home message.
James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal star in "Secretary."
(Lions Gate)
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The movie seems torn between giggling over this S&M match made in Heaven, and exploring the vulnerability of both characters. It settles for both and, yet, neither. In a movie as unrewarding as this, there's really only one burning question: When does the spanking begin? That's the closest the film gets to providing any impact.
SECRETARY (R, 104 minutes) – Contains spanking, obscenity and sexual situations. At Cinema Arts Fairfax, Landmark Bethesda Row, Cineplex Odeon Shirlington and Dupont Circle.
