Good news for fans of mechanically induced female orgasms, Variety reports that Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce and Rupert Everett will star in the indie rom-com Hysteria, centered on the invention of the vibrator in Victorian-age England.
Dancy
and Pryce will star as doctors in London treating cases of hysteria, a
condition said to be characterized at the time by a woman’s
irritability, anger or unexplained tears. Dancy’s character and his best
friend, portrayed by Everett, experiment with a new electrical device
for treatment for the ailment. Gyllenhaal portrays the daughter of
Pryce’s character.
I
can’t wait for the scene where Gyllenhaal is getting goosed by whatever
steam-punk nightmare the first vibrator was, screaming with pleasure,
and then the old lady next to her looks over and says, “I’ll have what
she’s having.” Trailer moment!
The
film is coming from unknown filmmakers, so it is hard to say what to
expect here. But I’ve always found this an almost too funny to be real
period in medical history, so there’s certainly logs for the fire. I
mean, before the invention of the vibrator these repressed Victorian
doctors were finger-banging all the patients personally in a procedure
known as a “pelvic massage.” The history reads like a 70’s European
soft-core comedy.
I have a bad feeling this will be more akin to The Road to Wellville though.