July 15, 2012

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When I was handed the trilogy of Fifty Shades of Grey, I asked how they were. I was told, "It's Twilight with sex." I didn't believe it until about half way through the second book, when another friend mentioned the same thing, saying she kept picturing Robert Pattinson as Christian Grey. It clicked that the two trilogies are oddly similar.



Let's start with Bella vs. Ana. Both are virgins and very naive. They both live in Washington state, with divorced parents. A mother who remarried and a father, who never did. In Ana's case, her birth father passed away, but the man who her mother remarried is described as her father and who's name she still uses. Both their mothers live on the East Coast with their new husbands or boyfriends. Both are very close to their fathers. Bella is very good friends with Jacob, who has a crush on her and loves her. And who at some point Bella could see herself with. Ana has a very good friend Jose, who also has a crush on her, as he opened a photo exhibit with her as the main attraction. At some points, Ana had considered dating Jose, as he even made a move on her before Christian intervened outside the bar. And both don't grow a pair until at least book three.



The similarities between Christian and Edward are a little harder to compare, as Edward is a vampire and Christian is not. However, the personalities are very similar, as is their past somewhat. Edward was dying when he was turned and 'saved' by Dr. Carlisle Cullen, who 'adopts' him into the Cullen family. Christian had a crackwhore for a mother and was in the same apartment with her dying body for days as a child before he was 'rescued' by Grace, a doctor. He is then raised by Carrick and Grace, with a brother and a sister. Granted Edward has an extra 'sister' and 'brother,' but you get the picture.



Both male characters are possessive and don't want any other man even looking, let alone, talking to their woman. Edward never asks Bella to sign a contract to be his, but he might as well have seeing as how he proposed to her while she was still 17. Making her his forever. Essentially Christian does the same thing, when he realizes he doesn't want to lose Ana. Both men warm to their females and eventually open up about why they are the way they are.



Ana eventually grows a pair and stands up to Christian and his possessiveness. Bella grows a pair and makes Edward promise to turn her into a vampire, so they can be together forever. Both couples get married way to quickly at the groom's family's home. Both have ridiculous amounts of sex on their honeymoons. And soon, both females are pregnant.



After a little bit of research, I realized that the author E.L. James was originally written on fan fiction websites and was based off of Twilight, which would explain the similarities. Eventually, James pulled the stories and wrote the novels. However, she didn't stray far from the Twilight formula, including the 'battle' scene in the last book between Ana's old boss and Christian.



And now Fifty Shades is going to be a movie. Just like Twilight. I sure as hell hope they don't split the last novel into two films. In fact, I think they should just combine all three books into one movie. Because honestly, the first book is just straight up porn. The second is character building, and the last is the most exciting with a little bit of action in it. As far as who should play Christian Grey, is should most definitely not be Robert Pattison or Ryan Gosling. My vote is for Taylor Kitsch. He can totally play off the dark and brooding with a little mystery, while being incredibly sexy and beating the shit out of someone with a whip in the bedroom (or rather a Red Room of Pain).



Essentially, Christian and Ana are Bella and Edward all grown up in their 20s, without all the werewolves and vampire non-sense. And a lot of S&M in the bedroom.