Indecent Proposal is a 1993 American erotic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Amy Holden Jones.

It is based on the 1988 novel by Jack Engelhard, in which a couple's marriage is disrupted by a stranger's offer of a million dollars for the wife to spend the night with him.

After an enjoyable evening together, Gage offers the couple $1 million to allow him to spend a night with Diana, with David flatly refusing.

Gage flies Diana to his private yacht and offers her a chance to void their deal and return to her husband if he loses a toss of his lucky coin.

Overcome with anger and jealousy, David accuses Diana of continuing to see Gage after finding his business card in her wallet, which she denies knowing about.

Finding her at a zoo benefit with Gage, David donates the entire $1 million in a charity auction bid, then makes his peace with Diana and signs their divorce papers.

[5] Lyne had a falling out with past collaborator Stanley Jaffe, who wanted the film to be released by Christmas season of 1992 and thus allotted for limited post-production time.

Woody Harrelson dropped out of the film Benny & Joon to commit to the role, resulting in a lawsuit from MGM-Pathe Entertainment that was settled out of court.

[13] After a month in Las Vegas, the production moved to southern California, where locations included the Echo Park neighborhood and a Santa Barbara mansion that stood in for Gage’s home.

[5] Engelhard's novel contained cultural friction that the screenwriter left out of the movie: the main character, named Joshua, is Jewish, and his billionaire foil is Arab.

[18] Some journalists attributed the audience turnout to Paramount’s strong marketing campaign, as well as the film's sensational premise that made for heated debates.

[27][28][29][30] Critics noted that the film was the latest of a string of movies that involved women being treated as property, such as Pretty Woman, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Mad Dog and Glory.

None of the characters have lives outside the confines of the story, although the lonely Gage, when celebrating a big gambling win, suddenly gives a party for 200 anonymous, soigne-looking friends.

"[34] In The Telegraph, Anthony Brett said that despite its packaging as a steamy thriller, "Indecent Proposal is in fact a largely distasteful and bizarrely plodding romantic drama, one that gently pokes at lofty ideas about power and marriage and the American dream but scurries away before it hits on anything too dicey.

"[7] In Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman wrote: "Indecent Proposal starts out kinky and turns into a languid — and shockingly banal — domestic soap opera.

[32][34][35][30] Gleiberman wrote: "Like Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko, he has that aura of money that’s almost tactile — even in his dark suit, he glows — and he speaks with the dry enticement of someone who has had too much of what he wants and now gets his kicks by testing people, living through their experiences.

"[34] Todd McCarthy wrote: "What emotional legitimacy the film does possess stems from Moore's performance, which is lively, heartfelt and believable until the script ceases to permit it.

"[35] Several critics found Harrelson to be the weak link of the cast, with McCarthy writing the actor is not given much to do except display "puppydog love in the first section and standard-issue jealousy in the second".

The second [Diana returns from her night with Gage], the million dollars that just moments ago was going to change her and her husband's lives ceases to matter.

"[38] The film also sparked significant backlash from feminists and critics for its depiction of a woman bartering with her body for the benefit of her husband.

[41] Jones later said: "When the film was released, it caused a great deal of controversy, because, you know, how could I write this thing about a woman spending the night with this guy for a million dollars?

[43] In his print review, Ebert admitted there "are large challenges to logic" and the plot is "manipulative", but said "there is a genuine romantic spirit at work here", concluding that a necessary suspension of disbelief is "why we line up at the ticket window: We want to leave the real world, for a couple of hours, anyway".

[44] Caryn James of The New York Times also gave a positive review, writing that while Honeymoon in Vegas and Mad Dog and Glory "dance around the issue of buying and bartering people, Indecent Proposal embraces it.

It isn't aways a good film; it employs lazy voice-overs to express sappy sentiments about the Murphys' eternal love.

Working with a ridiculous premise and...[a] badly underwritten script...the director of Flashdance and Fatal Attraction has still come up with the sort of sexy pop parable that is his specialty.

[51] On July 30, 2018, Paramount Players announced that a remake of the film was in development, with the screenplay being written by Erin Cressida Wilson.

[56] The TV series Impractical Jokers featured a punishment inspired by Indecent Proposal in the Season 7 episode of the same name where Sal Vulcano is forced to ask couples while working as a dance instructor's assistant if they would be willing to meet him in a more passionate setting in exchange for money.