Gilbert Gottfried’s NSFW reading of Fifty Shades Of Grey is only two minutes long but is somehow more entertaining than anything in the movie.
Split image showing Gilbert Gottfried and the cover of Fifty Shades of Grey.
Gilbert Gottfried’s “erotic” and very NSFW reading of Fifty Shades Of Grey is somehow why more entertaining than the movie. While erotic thrillers existed before Basic Instinct – with 9½ Weeks being a key example – it was really Paul Verhoeven’s film that made studios see the box-office potential in them. This led to a steady but brief glut of erotically charged thrillers, including Sliver, Body Of Evidence, Disclosure, the Alec Baldwin/Kim Basinger remake of The Getaway and the delightfully insane Color Of Night starring Bruce Willis.
Despite being big-budget movies with star names, most of these films tended to perform poorly commercially – though some did way better on VHS. Fifty Shades Of Grey by author E.L. James was published in 2011, with the book originally being Twilight fan fiction. It became an instant bestseller and involves the relationship between businessman Christian Grey and student Anastasia Steele. She enters into a BDSM romance with Grey and the book famously features explicit sex scenes. Fifty Shades Of Grey became such a phenomenon that a movie adaptation became inevitable.
Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy) was originally cast in the title role but had to back out due to schedule conflicts, while Emilia Clarke turned down Fifty Shades Of Grey due to the nudity involved. Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson eventually signed on for the lead roles and the movie predictably became a big hit and sequel books Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed were also adapted. The movie didn’t receive the warmest critical response, with many critics finding it slow and plodding, with the two leads lacking chemistry. Even the sex scenes were considered tame. One thing that definitely isn’t tame is Gilbert Gittfriend’s hilarious – and again, decidedly NSFW – reading for College Humor.
Gilbert Gottfried (Sharknado 5: Global Spawning) is a comedian/actor famous for his shrill voice, and boy does he put that to good use while reading from Fifty Shades Of Grey. Gottfried reads some of the book’s spicier passages and the combination of his voice and James’ bizarre prose make it far more entertaining than anything in the surprisingly languid movie.
Fifty Shades Of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson later admitted she had a tough time working on the movie with author E.L. James, and they often clashed over the tone of scenes and dialogue. There are hints of a more interesting psychological drama in the movie, but James’ insistence it remain as close to her book as possible resulted in a stilted adaptation.
