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Movie Overview
Cast
• Maggie Gyllenhaal
• James Spader
• Jeremy Davies
Director
• Steven Shainberg
MPAA Rating
Not Rated - for strong sexuality, some nudity, depiction of behavorial disorders, and language
Secretary (2002)

REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS
OTHER
OFCS Rating: 76% Fresh
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4/5
"Secretary explodes with juicy innuendo, even from its opening moments."  Filmcritic.com  Blake French

A
"Secretary is not a movie about fetishism. It is a movie about passion."  AboutFilm.com  Carlo Cavagna

78/100
"A twisted and very funny rethinking of the romantic comedy genre. Great performances by Spader and Gyllenhaal."  Cinemania  Dan Jardine

1.5/4
"Secretary operates on a level devoid of any plausibility or satisfaction. It's cold, overly-calculated, tasteless and meaningless in nearly every way possible."  Cinemaphile.org  David Keyes

2.5/4
"Fancy a little S&M? If so, then the kinky Secretary should be right up your alley."  Movie Boeuf  David N. Butterworth

2/4
"Secretary [is] about as compelling as a Corn Flakes commercial."  Reel Film Reviews  David Nusair

C
"The film was cute and well-acted and tastefully directed and its humor well-placed, but it went nowhere with its muted story."  Ozus' World Movie Reviews  Dennis Schwartz

2.5/4
"The film treats the subject of S&M with a kind of confused interest worthy of Madonna."  Slant Magazine  Ed Gonzalez

B
"The relationship between quirky perfectionist lawyer E. Edward Grey (James Spader) and his obsessive secretary Lee (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is uncomfortable and squirmish. Not to mention funny, upbeat and oddly compelling."  EricDSnider.com  Eric D. Snider

3/4
"Some people want the ol’ ball-and-chain and then there are those who just want the Ball and Chain."  eFilmCritic.com  Erik Childress

3/4
"Shainberg’s showcase is astutely observant in its exploitative and titillating take on unassuming work-related alienation and the kinky sexual politics that consume the completeness of two lost souls."  TheWorldJournal.com  Frank Ochieng

B-
"A romantic film designed to make viewers queasy rather than comfortably content...far from a great movie, but Spader's is a great performance."  One Guy's Opinion  Frank Swietek

"A strangely compelling and brilliantly acted psychological drama."  Spirituality and Practice  Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

3.5/4
"The movie enters a realm where few non-porn films venture, and comes across as darkly funny, energetic, and surprisingly gentle."  ReelViews  James Berardinelli

8/10
"A sly female empowerment movie, although not in a way anyone would expect."  Window to the Movies  Jeffrey Chen

C-
"A fairy tale romance wrapped within the fantasia of sadomasochistic games, Steven Shainberg's Secretary takes devious routes only to arrive at an old-fashioned finale."  Matinee Magazine  Jeremiah Kipp

2/4
"Even as the stakes are raised in Secretary's sexual give and take, the movie retains its detached, private mood."  MovieMartyr.com  Jeremy Heilman

6.5/10
"Worth checking out -- if you get can get past the material -- simply for being so different and intriguing."  Screen It!  Jim Judy

7/10
"A perfect example of a 'small quirky' film ... a really bizarre love story..."  JoBlo's Movie Emporium  JoBlo

2.5/5
"It's an interesting exploration of people finding and accepting themselves and then finding the puzzle piece that fits this new shape."  Cinerina  Karina Montgomery

2/4
"The one thing that’s consistently involving in Secretary is Maggie Gyllenhaal as the secretary."  Montreal Film Journal  Kevin N. Laforest

A
"it sounds sick and twisted, but the miracle of Shainberg's film is that it truly is romance"  Reeling Reviews  Laura Clifford

3/4
"Contradicts everything we’ve come to expect from movies nowadays. Instead of simply handling conventional material in a conventional way, Secretary takes the most unexpected material and handles it in the most unexpected way."  Mark Reviews Movies  Mark Dujsik

"Secretary is a love story in very much the same way that Schindler’s List is a comedy."  Flick Filosopher  MaryAnn Johanson

3.5/4
"Even though Secretary goes down an uncomfortable road, it does so in a way that is refreshingly honest, intelligent, and eminently watchable."  Aisle Seat  Mike McGranaghan

B
"Sure, its artistic porn, but porn, nonetheless."  Laramie Movie Scope  Robert Roten

B+
"Secretary” is owned by its costars, Spader and Gyllenhaal. Maggie G. makes an amazing breakthrough in her first starring role and eats up the screen."  Reeling Reviews  Robin Clifford

3/4
"The Graduate by way of humiliation and water sports."  Film Freak Central  Walter Chaw

"Click here to see review"  Wolf Entertainment Guide  William Wolf

8/10
Read review  Movie Gazette  Anton Bitel

3.5/4
Read review  Zertinet Movies  David Johnson

3/4
Read review  Big Picture Big Sound  Joe Lozito

7/10
Read review  Dog Pile  Mark R. Leeper

3/4
Read review  Movie Habit  Marty Mapes

Read review  Nitrate Online  Cynthia Fuchs

Read review  Cinema Crazed  Felix Vasquez Jr.

Read review  Movie Eye  Frank Ochieng

Read review  Shadows on the Wall  Rich Cline
OFCS Rating: 76% Fresh
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