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HYSTERIA (2012)Movie Reviews
Romantic comedy about the invention of the vibrator as a treatment for the ailments of Victorian women. Cast:Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones, Rupert Everett, Ashley Jensen, Sheridan Smith, Gemma Jones, Anna Chancellor, Malcolm Rennie, Kim Criswell, Georgie Glen, Elisabet JohannesdottirDirector:Tanya WexlerRelease Date:May 18, 2012DVD Release:September 18, 2012From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:1 hr. 35 min.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2012
Hysteria (2012), Good (Not Great) Reviews Key Cities
Hysteria (2012) played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Ty Burr wrote in the Boston Globe, "...a cheekily illuminating cultural comedy about a trussed-up society racked by urges it doesn't dare name.... For a movie about pleasure, 'Hysteria' is curiously prim." • And Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "...a movie of effortless charm and good humor." More Reviews Below...
David Germain, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...despite the novel premise, 'Hysteria' feels as though it's going through the motions as the filmmakers strain to deliver one of those blithe little costume charmers..."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 649 words, 05/17/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...whenever Rupert Everett appears as a rich fellow who distinctly does not fancy ladies, it's a hysterical history lesson of the hilarious variety."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 193 words, 05/18/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "While it attempts to be a naughty period comedy in the vein of Oscar Wilde, by the time it reaches its climax, 'Hysteria' lacks electricity."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 505 words, 05/17/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "One of the pleasures of Wexler's third feature is how elegantly it sets its story in the period.... The performances are spot on, and I especially like the spunky Gyllenhaal..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 605 words, 05/25/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: WEAK(cg) "What it winds up being is kind of mushy. Not actively unpleasant to sit through for the most part, but not particularly engaging or illuminating or charming."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 05/15/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...offers moderate entertainment value but little more. Lack of character interaction dims the romance; the feeble climax doesn't justify the effort expended..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 798 words, 05/17/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: MODERATE "...the central conceit here, that an electrical gadget is a miraculous substitute for intimacy, is as ludicrous as the notion that cybersex is better than the real thing."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 533 words, 05/18/12
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: FAIR "The picture's heart belongs to Gyllenhaal's ultra-modern feminist... You don't believe in her in the context of the film's setting."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 05/18/12
Sara Stewart, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...takes place in an era when women didn't get to vote, weren't thought to have the capacity for sexual pleasure and could be institutionalized for voicing a strong opinion."(See all of Sara Stewart's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 05/18/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "A racier-than-usual period-piece, though its message of sexual liberation is undermined by sniggering jokes and subconscious double standards."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 06/01/12
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: FAIR "...the most demure movie you'll ever see about the creation of a sex toy.... it could just as well be about the guy who invented the cheese grater."(See all of Bilge Ebiri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 602 words, 05/18/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "One of the pleasures of Wexler's third feature is how elegantly it sets its story in the period.... The performances are spot on, and I especially like the spunky Gyllenhaal..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 605 words, 05/25/12
Greg Quill, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a very political comedy about a very serious matter.... but while a great deal of fun is had at the expense of Victorian stuffiness, mores, law and behaviour..."(See all of Greg Quill's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 457 words, 05/25/12
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Dancy is an ideal romantic lead, and he has a fine foil in Maggie Gyllenhaal's Charlotte... The charming pair rise above the pandering, lightweight material."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 150 words, 05/24/12
KEY CITIES (13 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a comedy about the discovery of the female orgasm.... If it never rises to greatness, it may be because it's also a fairly formulaic romcom..."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 594 words, 05/25/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "There are misunderstandings and fracases to work through, of course, but eventually things work out. Good vibrations all around."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 437 words, 06/01/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: MODERATE(cg) "...despite an excellent cast that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy and Rupert Everett, it doesn't really know what it is.... it adds up to not much at all."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 634 words, 05/25/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...a cheekily illuminating cultural comedy about a trussed-up society racked by urges it doesn't dare name.... For a movie about pleasure, 'Hysteria' is curiously prim."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 06/08/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: MODERATE(cg) "...takes a terrific character, and then wraps her up in a slightly silly and very predictable movie.... Too bad the entire movie hadn't simply concentrated on her..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 445 words, 05/18/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...the movie saddles itself - and saddles actor Hugh Dancy - with a lead character who cannot act in any decisive way, because to do so would be inconvenient to the story."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 647 words, 05/25/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...fairly predictable, and certainly lighter-than-light... one of those films that fades quickly from the memory, all pleasantness and little substance."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 322 words, 06/15/12
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...ends up taking a silly angle on a potentially fascinating slice of secret history.... implies that even the stuff that seems hard to believe actually happened."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 386 words, 06/15/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "...this silly, superficial history lesson from Tanya Wexler tells us next to nothing about the sexually frustrated housewives who take matters into their own hands."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 302 words, 06/08/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "...marks the beginning of man's irrelevance.... has good fun with history while coming off far more wholesome than salacious."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 257 words, 06/15/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...light and relentlessly fluffy... never gets too preachy or ponderous, and there's something in the film to educate even the most learned viewer."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 381 words, 06/08/12
Ann Lewinson, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Begins as a smug comedy about repressed Victorians but turns into something more provocative -- particularly for women who came of age in the era of do-me feminism."(See all of Ann Lewinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 144 words, 06/07/12
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: GOOD(cg) "...spirited, a jaunty trifle that's low on eroticism but high on cartoony coquettishness. Like the little motorized whatsit that is its subject, it does have its charms."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 05/17/12
R. Kurt Osenlund, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...intertwines a women's film with a risqué slice of history... It falters in that it sees fit to stuff in a complete romance too, forcing the co-leads together with routine tidiness..."(See all of R. Kurt Osenlund's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 04/23/12
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Dancy is an ideal romantic lead, and he has a fine foil in Maggie Gyllenhaal's Charlotte... The charming pair rise above the pandering, lightweight material."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 150 words, 05/24/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: EXCELLENT(cg) "The thing that's most wonderful about it is the tone, which beautifully balances a light absurdity with a refreshing sense of positive change on the horizon."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,037 words, 09/21/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: MODERATE "...the central conceit here, that an electrical gadget is a miraculous substitute for intimacy, is as ludicrous as the notion that cybersex is better than the real thing."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 533 words, 05/18/12
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: WEAK "...hopelessly antiquated, greeting with very British giggles, and without a trace of honest curiosity, the needs of the women it seeks to honor."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 781 words, 05/14/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, NPR: WEAK "...disappointingly limp... plays like a Merchant Ivory Production of 'Portnoy's Complaint'... the real problem with 'Hysteria' is that it's not the tiniest bit sexy."(See all of Jeannette Catsoulis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 542 words, 05/17/12
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: FAIR "...about the real-life use of vibrators to treat Victorian ladies' 'hysterical' disorders... congratulates its audience for enjoying such refined entertainment even as it panders."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 09/13/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...wants to make significant commentary on the emergence of the women's liberation movement, but as written and directed, the film lacks wit, real humor, and irony."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 08/29/12
Stephen Holden, New York Times: MODERATE "...the central conceit here, that an electrical gadget is a miraculous substitute for intimacy, is as ludicrous as the notion that cybersex is better than the real thing."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 533 words, 05/18/12
18.9 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Hysteria (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 18.9 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Hysteria (2012) (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Hysteria (2012)'s reviews cover 68.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,760 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 470 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 21.1 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Hysteria (2012)'s reviews on average broke 21.1 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Hysteria (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Hysteria (2012) (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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