Il complesso del trapianto

For a movie centering around the world's first successful penis transplant, "Percy" turns out to be considerably less raunchy than one might expect; in fact, it's downright melancholy at times. The hero spends half the movie trying to discover the identity of the (deceased) donor of his new "member", and the other half meeting the donor's past conquests; in the end he realizes that going to bed with a woman only gives him pleasure when he really cares about her. The film is meandering and short on big laughs, but Hywel Bennett gives a likable, low-key performance, as do most of the women, who are quite lovely to boot (be aware, however, that the biggest names, Elke Sommer and Britt Ekland, appear only for a couple of minutes each). So "Percy" does not rise to any great heights (ha!), but it is not completely limp either (ha!) (**1/2)

Percy (the transplant) is obviously not a very intellectual movie, but somehow funny and harmless. A friendly guy gets a penis transplant and starts looking for the original owner, because he suffers from identity problems. Along the way are sixties' sex kittens Elke Sommer (Shot in the dark '64) and Britt Ekland (Wickerman '73, Get Carter '71). In a way it is actually a very friendly SF without violence and with funny situations and (ironically) sincere human emotions underneath. It's not even bad acted; maybe a little shaky directed. The problem with this flick is that the technicalities aren't convincing and there isn't excessive lavatorial humour, so that kids will probably not enjoy it: the film falls between two stools, because the subject might not be appealing enough for adults (apart from Britt Ekland completists). See for yourself: it's a meaningless little piece with a certain level of medical discretion and appropriate music too. And it's not even the only flick on that subject matter either. Not that I ever want to see it again though.

When antiques dealer Edwin (Hywel Bennett) loses his tally-whacker in a freak accident, he becomes the first ever patient to undergo a penis transplant.

The permissive society of the swinging sixties and early seventies gave rise to the great British sex comedy, bawdy farces that offered cheap titillation to the masses in the form of ribald innuendo, silly sexual situations, and gratuitous nudity.

Percy looks set to be a classic example of the genre, it's penis transplant subject matter lending itself perfectly to such bawdy treatment, and sure enough, viewers are quickly treated to some suggestive dialogue, unsubtle phallic imagery and curvaceous beauties in skimpy outfits. The lowbrow laughs don't last long, however, soon giving way to a much more sober approach, the film focusing instead on Edwin's confusion and emotional turmoil following his operation.

This shift to a more ponderous tone serves to make Percy a more respectable movie than it could otherwise have been—a shame, 'cos I'd been looking forward to a huge helping of shameless smut and seriously saucy giggles and what I actually got was that guy from Shelley looking downright miserable (yet again) even when faced with a series of sexy 70s babes desperate for a seeing to.

One thing's for sure, Robin Askwith wouldn't have wasted time deliberating his dilemma when he could've been testing out his new todger!

I've always been fond of this film. The seemingly intentional mis-marketing as a raunchy comedy is not uncommon for the time, and is really damaging to what is essentially a look at sexual relationships and sexuality. There's a sweet naivety about the films perspective, caught up in the era in which is was released. Not much raunchiness, innuendo base titillation is more the course. As for the comedy there are a few laughs, and they do help alleviate some of the melancholy moments. For me it's in the emotional twists and turns that the film really shows interest and variety.

The Kinks wrote and performed the soundtrack. The songs are well constructed with some touchingly sentimental moments. An appreciation of The Kinks would most certainly aid ones appreciation the film, the lyrics embellishing he drama considerably.

I'm really surprised this film has been rated so low. How much of that is related to the mis-marketing and an under appreciation of the soundtrack?

"Percy" has taken such a battering down the years i felt it was time to write something in its defence. The most dubious content occurs early on, but for the most part Percy is surprisingly thoughtful, with the organ recipient coming to realise that he can only enjoy a meaningful sexual relationship with someone he really loves. The late actor Hywel Bennett bitterly regretted his involvement with the film but at least he gives his character a sensitive side; in lesser hands, eg Robin Asquith's, it would indeed have been 90 minutes of terrible kn*b gags.

Also going for it is a brief cameo by George Best, a rather fine soundtrack by the Kinks, and some nice glimpses of late era swinging London. Unusually for its time, Percy also treats a gay character with respect rather than making him a figure of fun.

Sadly upon its release Percy got lumped in with the dire Confessions/Carry On films, but having watched it a couple of times on Channel 4 i can vouch that it's better than those, and Hywel Bennett had nothing to be ashamed of.