Story of social mores and sex fails to arouse

By David Germain
Associated Press

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 15, 2012

~~<p>Like the inventors of the vibrator it depicts, "Hysteria" really aims to please. And like an inattentive lover displaced by the sexual aid, the film never quite satisfies.</p>
<p>True to the title, there are a few hysterically funny moments as a couple of Victorian-era British doctors and an amateur inventor stumble into the creation of a mechanical device to pleasure women. Yet despite the novel premise, "Hysteria" feels as though it's going through the motions as the filmmakers strain to rouse art-house audiences to ecstasy.</p>
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Like the inventors of the vibrator it depicts, "Hysteria" really aims to please. And like an inattentive lover displaced by the sexual aid, the film never quite satisfies.

True to the title, there are a few hysterically funny moments as a couple of Victorian-era British doctors and an amateur inventor stumble into the creation of a mechanical device to pleasure women. Yet despite the novel premise, "Hysteria" feels as though it's going through the motions as the filmmakers strain to rouse art-house audiences to ecstasy. Login for more...