HysteriaMovie Reviews

Hysteria Showtimes + Tickets

So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 53 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 17+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

91

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
Whenever Rupert Everett appears as a rich fellow who distinctly does not fancy ladies, it's a hysterical history lesson of the hilarious variety. Read full review
88

New York Observer | Rex Reed
Considering the subject, ripe with titillating possibilities, it's surprisingly about as sexy as a week-old meat loaf. Tastefully directed by Tanya Wexler, it is a total joy from start to finish. Read full review
75

Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea
Hysteria is a romantic comedy, not an erotic one. Read full review
70

The Hollywood Reporter |
Hysteria, is a pleasurable diversion, even if it could have used a touch more spark in the writing. Read full review
65

Movieline | Stephanie Zacharek
The picture is at least 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. Read full review
63

USA Today | Claudia Puig
The comic elements of this semi-factual tale are heavy-handed, and a key romance falls flat. Despite its titillating subject matter, Hysteria is only mildly stimulating. The final third of the story meanders during a tedious trial and clumsy speechifying. Read full review
60

New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman
While a delicate topic would seem to require a delicate touch, Wexler goes more for cheeky entertainment. To some degree, it works. Read full review
60

NPR | Jeannette Catsoulis
Hysteria, a disappointingly limp ode to the invention of the vibrator, plays like a Merchant Ivory Production of "Portnoy's Complaint." Read full review
50

San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle
There is no denying that every time Gyllenhaal steps into a frame she takes a sleeping movie and wakes it up. Read full review
50

Boston Globe | Ty Burr
The problem with Hysteria is that it keeps patting itself and us on the back for knowing better. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Hysteria on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 17+ Movie about sex toy invention isn't all that graphic.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Hysteria is a comedy-romance set in the 1880s that deals with the invention of the vibrator. Although the movie (akin to The Full Monty) manages to coyly avoid actually saying anything vulgar or showing any nudity, it has very strong suggestions of sexuality, as male doctors provide orgasms for female patients in an attempt to treat "hysteria." The doctors touch and massage the women behind a discreet screen, while they remain otherwise clothed. There's a bit of violence (male debt collectors beat up an old lady in one scene), and some social and comical drinking. Even though the movie isn't graphic, teens should be mature enough to understand something about sexuality before viewing.

Families can talk about Hysteria's sexuality. At one point a character says something about women "taking back their bodies." Is that what happens? What do women/characters actually learn about sexuality here?
By acknowledging sexuality in women of all different ages and shapes, does the movie make a positive statement about body type?
Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

The good stuff

Positive messages: It's possible to see a message about women's liberation or women's sexuality, but Hysteria's arc is mostly focused on very traditional Hollywood things: men getting ahead in the world, getting rich, and finding romance. That said, most characters do learn that they can choose their own path in life.
Positive role models: Charlotte is a positive role model except for the way she aggressively fights with her wealthy father. She's fully dedicated to helping others and runs a hospital in a poor part of town; she's unable to pay the bills, but is also unwilling to give up. The main character actually seems rather selfish compared to her.

What to watch for

Violence: Debt collectors beat up an old woman, and a young woman punches a cop in the face. Viewers see images of a primitive hospital, with leeches, blood, and festering wounds. There's general arguing and a reference to splitting someone's head with an axe.
Sexy stuff: Hysteria is all about female sexuality, but it's very coy about actually showing any nudity or directly saying anything vulgar. Even so, women -- diagnosed with the vague condition "hysteria" -- visit the doctor to have orgasms, and the male doctors (working under a discreet screen), masturbate and massage them to achieve this. Otherwise, they remain clothed. The dialogue during these scenes is almost exclusively made up of discreet innuendo. Additionally, a former prostitute propositions the hero, but using only innuendo and gestures. The most physical thing shown, aside from a romantic kiss, are two ducks having sex in a pond. During the end credits, there are photos of vibrators throughout history.
Language: Since the movie is set in 1880, language is limited to historical slang/swearing such as "stiff prick," "bugger," and "bloody hell."
Consumerism: Not an issue
Drinking, drugs and smoking: A supporting character is said to be a drunk, but he's rarely actually seen drinking. Otherwise, characters drink socially (whisky, rum, champagne, and port), and there's discussion of doctors and the pills they prescribe.

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