50 Shades of Grey is a worldwide phenomenon, the 2002 film Secretary is not; however it does hold some strange similarities to the E.L James novel.  

(In this I will be discussing the films rather than the novels)

When I watched the trailer for Secretary I was shocked at how similar to 50 Shades of Grey it seemed, and when researching it, I was even more shocked to see that not many people have picked up on the similarities. There is a Buzzfeed article (including gif's) debating which film is better but there is a Buzzfeed article for just about everything and other than that, there has not been a lot of discussion around this topic.

There are many glaringly obvious similarities within these films, shown clearly in just a short synopsis of each:

 Lee Holloway, a young woman with a history of severe emotional problems, is released into the care of her parents following a stay at a mental institution. She finds work as a secretary for a rigid and demanding attorney, E. Edward Grey. Lee soon realizes she's turned on by Grey's stern demeanour, and they begin a sadomasochistic relationship.

When college senior Anastasia Steele steps in for her sick room-mate to interview prominent businessman Christian Grey for their campus paper, little does she realize the path her life will take. Christian, finds himself strangely drawn to Ana, and she to him. Though sexually inexperienced, Ana plunges headlong into an affair and soon learns that Christian's true sexual proclivities push the boundaries.

It seems that 50 Shades of Grey is just a more popular and successful rip off of Secretary, but with a little more sex.

The fact that the two male protagonists share the name, Mr. Grey, seems more than just a coincidence. You think someone writing a novel about BDSM (a controversial topic) would look into material of a similar nature and refrain from using the same name for their male lead, but maybe not.

Other similarities, among many, include the young, naive (and brunette) girl being draw in to a relationship with a powerful business man. Both of the girls are clearly inexperienced whereas this is not the case for the men, who are dom's in both cases.

However, the BDSM aspect of Steele and Grey's relationship is much more glamorised, with Red Room's etc., opposed to Holloway and Grey's relationship where the nearest they get to the Red Room is with a saddle and carrot.

In Secretary the characters grow, Lee overcomes self-harm, gains confidence, both Edward and she are able to challenge each other. Whereas, in 50 Shades of Grey there is no character development, making the only vaguely interesting aspect of the film the sexual parts - but they can in no way hold up a whole 2 hrs and 9 mins.

Luckily though, Secretary was able to promote itself using 50 Shades of Grey themed posters - whoo!

'The Original Mr. Grey'

Secretary is, overall, a better film. It's funny, sad and touching all while being based around a controversial topic. The directing, the writing and the acting is so much more impressive than 50 Shades of Grey. It won Special Jury Prize for Originality at Sundance in 2002, so clearly it's a good film, even if it's not the best portray of a BSDM relationship - an article on this topic can be read here:

Before you decided to watch 50 Shades again try Secretary, you won't be disappointed.