Hysteria

this film is absolutely a gem of comedy, so enjoyable and right on the money. i never knew the origin of the portable massager, now i know, and that's a plus after fully enjoyed this wonderful British film. great screenplay, great directing and of course, with nice casting job, making this comedy an undisputable winner. this is a model comedy that Hollywood should learn how to make comedies being able to be titled in the genre of real comedies instead of turning out just farces. to me, about 98% of the so-called 'comedies' are actually nothing but. comedy does not mean casting some jerk-like clowns with exaggerated facial expressions or pretentious unnatural way of talking, some moronic gestures with lot of abnormally crazy dialog, ridiculous scenario, impossible twists of plots....so and so, then you call it a 'comedy'. absolutely not.

this film is the real deal that we can officially title it as a comedy and, a great one,

Happy, happy happy;

After a good dose of Hysteria, i am as happy and exhausted as the women depicted in this gem of a film.

Hysteria is the not-exceedingly-accurate story of the man who invented (of all things) the vibrator, in the midst of Victorian England and the laughable ideals of the time. As a light hearted comedy, it succeeds above and beyond the call of duty. As historical document, it lets itself slip into more comfortable Hollywood territory, but not in any reproachable way - it's a delightful character romp, getting heaps of help from the astounding weirdness of the Victorians themselves, if only in stereotype.

Jonathan Pryce (The Master, anyone?) is brilliant, overshadowing lead Hugh Dancy who is slightly uncomfortable in his too-simplistic role. The sets are splendid, and so is all of the production - good direction, excellent photography and pretty decent score round out the package to let the film rise to a pretty decent standard.

All considered, i would recommend this film to anyone looking for a laugh and an easy evening. There are the occasional "drags on" moments (after all, it's hard to find enough masturbation-related jokes to fill 90 minutes), and the serious sections aren't all that great; after the first hilarious 20 minutes, it's kind of difficult to swallow the romance bits, and you can almost find yourself yearning for a descent into total silliness (where unfortunately Hysteria does not deliver). I feel that a stronger hand (pardon the pun) in the script might have made more of this film. But, as it stands, there is still very little to complain about.

A film recommended to all the family - at least, that is Hysteria's thinly-veiled message: sex is good, and thank god for that.

My final vote - 7/10, funny (if slightly inconclusive), and better than A LOT of stuff out there. (add 1 point if you have never seen Woody Allen's "all you wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask")

While I guess some might be offended by the way some things are depicted here, the movie itself plays it safe when it comes to the story. It is pretty predictable and you will know where this is heading not long after the movie has started. But the movie itself has so much heart (especially Maggie G.), that you are more than willing (no pun intended) to look over those flaws.

The jokes work, the characters are finely drawn and the movie itself is really nice. Again do not expect anything deep and you won't be disappointed. I haven't checked my history books either to look if the characters were based on anyone particular (it does leave you with that impression)

I watched "Hysteria as a sneak preview and, having no idea what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised. Both Dancy and Gyllenhaal refrain from playing their, somewhat stereotypical, roles over the top and the script is intelligent enough to build a strong relationship plot around the already interesting subject of the invention of the dildo. The subject is also interpreted in an entertaining way and not simply used as a gimmick, which happens quite a bit in these period pieces that feature a certain historical event. The comedic pacing is refreshing, tasteful and does not feel cheap which is impressive if you consider that some of the biggest laughs stem from scenes that depict the masturbation of middle aged women. All in all "Hysteria" is a fun movie, with good actors, a good story and, if that's important for you, a great happy end.

This is a very interesting portrayal of a little known but highly interesting medical history. It keeps a serious tone, but it still makes you laugh by the strange medical concepts that prevailed at that time.