What Ethical Dilemma?

We've been seeing a lot of commercials for "The Box." This Cameron Diaz vehicle is about a couple that receives a mysterious gift (wait for it!): a box. A mysterious stranger who looks like Frank Langella tells the couple that, if they push a button in the box, they will receive $1 million. The catch? Pushing the button will cause the death of someone they don't know.

This is a moral dilemma? Push the freakin' button!

The way we figure it, many people we don't know--dozens even--die every day. Almost none of these deaths, however, provide us with any remuneration whatsoever. A million bucks? You sure you only want us to push once?

It's reminiscent of "Indecent Proposal" (1993). In that film, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson play a young couple in dire financial straits. They are approached by a millionaire who, in exchange for one night with Demi, offers the couple one million dollars. (Try saying it like Dr. Evil--pinky to the side of the mouth, over-emphasis on the 'mill' in 'million': It adds a whole new dimension).

By the way, the millionaire is played by Robert Redford.

Now, look, we certainly wouldn't force or even attempt to coerce WOS into such a "compromise." But if she were game. . . ?

Y'know, the directors could have cast, say, Don Rickles or Carrot Top as the Vegas millionaire. Then, there might be more room for debate.

(The show "Mad About You" did a riff on the concept: In the episode, Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie (Helen Hunt) go to a casino. As the end credits roll, the couple are approached by a Redford-esque figure who offers $1,000,000 for one night with Jamie. She and Paul look at each other, shrug, and say, "Cool!")

In "The English Patient" (1996), Count Almasy (Ralph Fiennes) decides effectively to collaborate with Nazis in what he probably knows is a fruitless attempt to save the life of his beloved. Sure, the movie is tedious as hell and a waste of Ralph Fiennes, but THAT, at least, is an interesting ethical dilemma.

If Hollywood is trying to entice us to spend exorbitant amounts at the box office, they should offer more interesting issues than those posed by "The Box."