Despite the frigid temps outside, things still got, ahem, a little hot and steamy in Wilton, at least as far as the top-trending movie 50 Shades of Grey goes. The flick opened at Bow Tie Cinemas in Wilton Center on Friday, Feb. 13, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
For the sake of journalistic inquiry, GOOD Morning Wilton made sure reporting on the film was on the top of our weekend to-do list as a news event that was ‘must-cover.’ Just in case the shows would sell out, we bought a ticket online earlier in the week, to be sure we’d have a seat for the Sunday evening showing. We knew that in order to maintain any editorial integrity, seeing the film based on the best-selling erotic book and starring Dakota Johnson and a really, really, (OMG, really) attractive Jamie Dornan, was a sacrifice we’d be willing to make for our readers.
Seems other people had the same idea. Showings were reportedly well-attended enough that Wilton Bow Tie has already booked the movie beyond the rest of this week, through next weekend as well. There were no sold-out shows in Wilton, however, most likely due to the movie’s opening weekend falling on a school February break and many residents leaving town on vacation. While there weren’t lines to get in, some Wilton theatergoers did join the rest of the movie-going public in helping to make 50 Shades a record-breaker; according to the trade publication Variety, the film took in $81.7 million, making it the highest-grossing President’s Day holiday opener of all time and putting it close to the top of the list of R-rated openings.
There were some groups of women who went to see it together, something we heard anecdotally was popular in Wilton and elsewhere. There were also some couples who saw 50 Shades as a date movie. (We’ll bet they had a happy Valentine’s weekend!)
We interviewed many of the theater patrons about seeing the movie. Surprisingly, none of our fellow 50 Shades watchers wanted to be identified by full name in print, but some of them let us use their first names.
Take for instance, a foursome from New Canaan. Beth and Tom were on a double date with Kate and Matt. Turns out Beth and Kate are mother/daughter. Wow!
“I struggled with it,” Matt laughs about the idea of seeing the erotic blockbuster with his mother-in-law. Tom was in good humor about it too. “We tried to get into American Sniper, but…” as he shrugged his shoulders and looked sheepishly at his wife and daughter.
“We kind of finagled it. They didn’t really know we were seeing this,” Kate adds.
There was another couple in the audience for which no subterfuge was necessary. While he wouldn’t share his name, he said his wife really enjoyed the books and he was up for making the movie date night material. “We don’t get out much with a 2-year-old at home, so this is a good excuse to get out.”
His wife, Kate, (different than the other Kate above) said the timing also worked in their favor. “It coincided with Valentine’s Day, it’s opening weekend, so we planned it. I was glad it was playing in town, and it’s nice to be in a smaller theater.
Jenny, a 19-year-old British au pair living in New Canaan, hadn’t read the book before coming to see the movie with a group of her au pair friends. “It was interesting. Now I’m going to read it,” she said. “Everybody said it was kinda gross but really good, so I wanted to go see it. I think it was good, I was kind of stunned, but it was fun.”
Amelie, who hails from Germany, said she was looking forward to seeing the movie with a lot of anticipation. “I loved the books, and I had to see the movies.” She sounded a little disappointed, though, with what was up on the big screen. “The movie is different, it’s not what you expect. The story was great, but in the book they have more, well, detail,” she laughed.
That kind of shocked her friend Jenny, who said, “Really? More than that?”
Seems some audience members agreed that the movie, shall we say, reveals a lot. “I think it pushed the envelope of an R-rated movie. I was surprised they could get away with all that,” said one moviegoer after seeing it.
“I’m looking forward to the sequel,” said another.
The movie does contain nudity–a lot of nudity–and graphic sex scenes. And while it’s probably safe to say the story isn’t the stuff of great literature, it’s still an entertaining experience if you’re open to going. And did we mention that Jamie Dornan is really, really, (OMG, really) nice to look at?
If it means making sure our readers are up on the latest Wilton news, this was one story well worth covering.
Wilton Bow Tie Cinemas is located at 21 River Rd.. 50 Shades of Grey will be playing there at least through Sunday, Feb. 22.