It doesn’t require a rocket scientist to pick up on the fact that Peacock’s Another Man’s Wife is a modern revamp of the 1993 blockbuster Indecent Proposal. In the battle of Indecent Proposal vs Another Man’s Wife, the general premise of both films is identical in the sense that both basically ask the same ugly question: how much would it take for a married couple to mortgage their relationship for a night or a weekend? They both arrive at answers that, unsurprisingly, have divided public opinion.
Naturally, there’s the urge to pick a side, to decide which film did it better. But that’s a tricky proposition given that both movies figured out pretty early that the proposal itself never really matters. The main issue is what happens after the couple says yes. And that’s where things get interesting, because these two films take pretty much similar roads to very different places.
The Premise Still Hits – But The Stakes Have Changed
The setup of Indecent Proposal is almost quaint by today’s standards. It follows David (Woody Harrelson) and Diana Murphy (Demi Moore), a regular married couple who decide to multiply their last $5,000 in Vegas when David’s life’s work is threatened. That decision ends up costing them their life savings at a roulette table. In the midst of their despair, billionaire John Gage (Robert Redford) comes in with a lifeline in the form of a million dollars for the privilege of spending one night with Diana.
When the film was released in 1993, it faced major backlash, and that controversy rages on to date. Although it’s important to clarify that back then, it had more to do with the concept than execution. Largely because audiences weren’t used to watching a “respectable” couple negotiate something like that on screen. In fact, it so divided audiences that naysayers like Betty Friedan, a prominent feminist leader, called it a step backward for women.
Another Man’s Wife took things a step further by raising the stakes and giving the couple Maya (Sydney Mitchell) and Shawn Daniels (Moritz J. Williams) a different reason to say yes. They’re not broke because they gambled away their life savings like David and Diana. Their case is much worse: Shawn’s mother is diagnosed with stage three cancer, he’s just lost his job, and their insurance won’t cover the medical expenses. So, when tech billionaire Brendan Rhodes (Taye Diggs) offers them $2 million for the opportunity to spend time alone with Maya, it feels less scandalous, more grounded, and arguably more depressing.
Chemistry, Performances, and Emotional Fallout Define Both Movies
It goes without saying that the creators of Indecent Proposal did an incredible job with casting, and Redford is a clear testament to that. John Gage remains one of the most iconic characters in rom-com history, and viewers familiar with the character know exactly why. He oozed charm and an undeniable magnetic energy that set the tone for just about everything that unfolded in the movie.
The early scene where he floated the idea of leasing Diana, like she’s a piece of furniture, all while playing pool with David, tells viewers all they need to know about the character. When Diana, sure that her man would shut down the idea, jumps in to say David would tell him to go to hell, Gage simply responds, “I didn’t hear him.” It’s a power move that packed a double dose of making the skin crawl and pulse jump at the same time. Moore also pulls off a masterful performance by giving Diana more internal conflict than the script probably has. And while Harrelson went a little over the top with the jealousy, can anyone say they wouldn’t do the same or worse in his shoes?
Another Man’s Wife goes a different route by sticking viewers with a billionaire who’s more of a chess player than a charmer. Diggs’ Brendan spends pretty much the entire weekend at his mansion asking Maya tiny questions, testing to see where the cracks in the marriage are. Mitchell, as Maya, carries the emotional weight of the movie on her visibly exhausted shoulders like a champ. Moritz J. Williams’s Shawn, though, is the real shocker. He cracks like a piñata, breaks the NDA, and basically hands Brendan the victory on a platter. That’s the part that sticks because Shawn isn’t necessarily a bad guy. He’s just a guy who couldn’t handle that level of pressure, and it broke him and his family.
So… Which Movie Actually Did the Story Better?
Truthfully, there’s no easy way to tell which film did it better. Viewers who enjoy the corny aspects of rom-coms will probably pick Indecent Proposal. The ending is smart, cheesy even, more so by the film’s reveal of the mystery behind Gage’s lucky coin. Gage flipped it to decide if Diana stays with him. Turns out the coin was double-headed and showed he had no intention of letting her go in the first place.
He also comes up with a lie about Diana being just one of many “million-dollar girls” to gracefully let her off the hook and reunite with David, the man she truly loves. So yeah, it’s corny. But after two hours of watching their marriage fall apart, that corniness offered a welcome respite. Even critics, like Roger Ebert, who didn’t like the premise, admitted that the ending worked because “it’s fun to also see a movie that begins as mercenary sex and ends in unabashed romanticism.”
On the other hand, there’s a real argument to be made about the fact that Another Man’s Wife gave audiences a more honest take on the situation. Shawn’s paranoia blows up the deal, and being the shark he is, Brendan pulls his money. And unlike Diana, who chooses to rebuild her family, Maya walks out of Shawn’s life permanently to pitch her tent with the very man who broke up her marriage. The final shot, of Shawn staring as Maya walked away with Brendan, tells the audience one thing: desperation can lead to a broken life of loneliness.
All in all, two different movies, two different Americas. One says love can survive anything, the other says sometimes life throws a curveball.
Stream Another Man’s Wife on Peacock.
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