Fifty Shades of Black
Directed by Michael Tiddes
- romance
- comedy
The story
An inexperienced college student meets a wealthy businessman whose sexual practices put a strain on their relationship.
What it’s like
Bright, flatly lit studio comedy with the glossy, overexposed sheen of a mid-2010s rom-com: well-lit penthouses, pastel-and-cream interiors, plush hotel suites, and a lot of mugging straight into the lens. The camera stays fairly conventional, medium two-shots and punchline close-ups, with frequent cuts that let the gags land quickly. The soundtrack leans on bouncy pop and familiar R&B cues that undercut the seriousness of every scene, and the rhythm is brisk, joke after joke, with little room for quiet. Its vibe is broad, cheeky and deliberately silly, a spoof of a spoof where the millionaire-romance clichés are the punchline. Sexual humour and innuendo run throughout, with frank jokes and suggestive situations played for laughs rather than explicit nudity, and slapstick and crude comic cruelty appear now and then; there is no real gore and little genuine menace. Romance is the emotional spine, a naive young woman and a controlling, rich man slowly finding a messier, more human footing. It suits a loud, group movie night or a lazy evening when you want easy laughs and don't mind crude edges. It is for people who enjoy parody that pokes fun at a familiar bestseller and its tropes.
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