Some B-movies fall into the "so bad it's good" category. This is not one of them. Bound, (not to be confused with the 1990s erotic thriller starring Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon) tries to put a twist on the Fifty Shades of Gray storyline this time with an older woman (played by Buffy and Angel's Charisma Carpenter) trying to find empowerment through BDSM with a younger man (played by Bryce Draper). There were plenty of problems with the movie, the main one being that Carpenter and Draper had zero chemistry with each other, and the writing was horrible. As bad as the dialogue in the Fifty Shades movies could be, this was worse. It is a shame because anyone who is a fan of Buffy and/or Angel knows that Carpenter has really good acting chops and can definitely do more than just look pretty. Unfortunately, she is not given much to work with at all. But, then again, when a movie has Daniel Baldwin as one of the main characters and gives Terrell Owens an actual speaking role with more than one line of dialogue, you cannot expect much.
Had there been a better supporting cast, and just generally a better story, the movie could have been decent. But, you get the feeling that everyone was just phoning it in. While there is nudity in the movie and sex is definitely a theme, it is not really in the category of soft-core porn as some would make it seem. That said, it is not exactly something the whole family should sit around and watch either. Really, the only thing about the movie that is any kind of attraction is to see Carpenter, who was in her upper 40s at the time (and still gorgeous), do nude scenes. That is really the only thing that can bump it up to two stars. Otherwise, it is easily skippable and you are not missing anything.
Had there been a better supporting cast, and just generally a better story, the movie could have been decent. But, you get the feeling that everyone was just phoning it in. While there is nudity in the movie and sex is definitely a theme, it is not really in the category of soft-core porn as some would make it seem. That said, it is not exactly something the whole family should sit around and watch either. Really, the only thing about the movie that is any kind of attraction is to see Carpenter, who was in her upper 40s at the time (and still gorgeous), do nude scenes. That is really the only thing that can bump it up to two stars. Otherwise, it is easily skippable and you are not missing anything.
