The truth of how Mortimer Granville devised the invention of the first vibrator in the name of medical science.
Relentlessly euphemistic rather than explicit, Hysteria is considerably milder than the title and subject matter suggest.
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feisty turn almost saves it, but it’s tough to imagine what the audience for this will be – too unsexy for a date movie, too much fingering for a see-with-your-mum movie.
This is little more than a dressed-up Carry On film.
Wexler keeps the tone light and pleasant and the politics feminist, with Maggie Gyllenhaal rather chewing the scenery as a socialist pioneer.
Tanya Wexler’s staggeringly bad period comedy wears out its AA batteries fast, despite its teasing premise.
It all rolls along, and if you like this sort of thing, you'll like it.
Drained of kink, wit and bite, this historical rom-com fails to titillate.
Lightly humorous, well performed and not nearly as smutty as you might imagine. The earth may not move, but there are tingles of pleasure along the way.
It's that sort of film, deriding old-school myths of sexuality while playing up a seaside-postcard humour not seen since the days of Carry On.
Predictable but jolly good fun, Hysteria largely avoids the temptation for smut and frequently hits the spot.
Can you imagine a prequel to Naomi Wolf's Vagina: A New Biography with a screenplay by Richard Gordon, author of Doctor in the House? No, nor can I.
Hysteria, a film with good vibrations
'It's really difficult talking about the film without slipping into double-entendre...'
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday September 21, 2012, until Thursday October 4, 2012. More info: www.dca.org.uk
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