50 shades of “Nei, takk”

Norwegian papers unenthusiastic about the film, which opened last weekend

Michael Sandelson
The Foreigner

“An advanced shitty film,” writes VG’s Jon Selås. “50 nuances (shades) of rubbish,” Norwegian author Erlend Loe declares in his review for Aftenposten-run site osloby.no.

Both he and tabloid Dagbladet are merciless and non-sadomasochistic with their views of E.L. James’ novel. “The book was bad, the film was worse,” his review in Aftenposten reads.

“The book is simply kiosk literature for the chattering classes,” writes Andreas Wiese in his Dagbladet-published review, “[with] about as much as a plot as an average intercourse.”

Over 100 million copies of the trilogy have been sold, with the work having been translated into more than 51 languages worldwide since release.

Professor of Psychology at Bergen University College Frode Thuen tells The Foreigner that “these types of books have been read by a very large number of women.”

“The last few years have also seen an enormous increase in the availability of BDSM equipment in sex shops. Both this and these books’ market reach have quite likely inspired people to experiment,” he explains.

Fifty Shades of Grey (rated 15 in Norway), premiered nationally last Friday.

This article was originally published on The Foreigner. To subscribe to The Foreigner, visit theforeigner.no.

It also appeared in the Feb. 20, 2015, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617