Preaching to the Perverted

Rating:
Summary: Would you like an extra pillow?
Review: Finally on DVD. Love it. I first saw this mistresspiece about the same time as the equally wacky, sex-drenched Tromeo and Juliet (What? You didn't know Juliet had a lesbian lover?), and it has lost none of its magic.

Other reviewers have described it well, so I won't overkill the story line. While this is a lightweight look at the S & M industry/subculture, it is genuinely entertaining, with Chris Anholt (Tia Carrere's sidekick in Relic Hunter) perfectly cast opposite the Divine Guin Turner - check out Go Fish and Chasing Amy.

Apart from being sheer entertainment with a great soundtrack, the movie captures the madness by which corrupt and perverse Government officials presume to judge a subculture in which the genderless, non-hierarchical role-playing is actually very sane and healing.

Hilarious, sexy, exciting. I hope they make a sequel with the same cast.

Rating:
Summary: "I woo no man."
Review: Henry Harding (Tom Bell), a right-wing British politician sends innocent young Peter (Christien Anholt) undercover to penetrate the seamy side of London's S&M clubs. Harding is on a moral crusade to shut such clubs down. But, first he needs hard evidence. Enter Peter, the hapless son of Harding's cleaning lady. Peter is naive, and desperate enough to do whatever it takes to get ahead in his career, so he eagerly takes the job. Harding buys Peter the necessary accoutrements to enter the S&M world--this includes lots of leather, sunglasses, and a hidden camera.

Peter infiltrates the world of American dominatrix, Tania Cheex (Guinevere Turner), and what a naughty world it is. Tania likes a specific type--slavish, devoted, and ready to accept discipline. It's soon clear that Peter REALLY likes the job--probably more than he should. He's converted to the world of S&M.

The film "Preaching to the Perverted" is nice to look at. It's glossy and glamorous in a leather-and-chains sort of way. The decor and pulsing motion within the club are very well done. There's the world inside the club, and the world outside. Inside is inhabited with leather clad, pierced, tattooed adventurous types jostling to gawk at the latest on-stage atrocity. And the world outside is inhabited with fellow perverts--they're just too timid to acknowledge their inner desires. Tania is slick, beautiful and oh so cruel. Peter is the innocent, inexperienced lad who's eager to get his next lesson from his new mistress. It's all supposed to be good fun, and the plot is handled with an amused tongue-in-cheek attitude. Unfortunately the characters are all stereotypical, so the film's treatment of the subject matter remains superficial.

Writer and director, Stuart Urban, made the film after attending obscenity trials in London against people involved in various fetish clubs. Unfortunately, there's no analysis here--just titillation and voyeurism, and while entertaining, the film inevitably limits itself. There's one scene in which a milkman retrieves his child, rather abruptly, from the polluting influence of the pavement outside the club. I almost expected the child to say "look dad, a pervert" while watching a heaving Peter upchuck the contents of his stomach. The line did not exist in the script, but the film's superficial treatment of fetish clubs is firmly based in the 'look at the pervert' territory. For a piece of fetish whimsy, "Preaching to the Perverted" is a pretty way to idle away an evening, but it's yet another film to enter the annals of superficial and titillating treatment of human desires--displacedhuman


Rating:
Summary: Immerse in the perverse!
Review: Not for nothing has the rep of this cult movie from Britain grown and grown, until now it is finally striking out in the States after a little grappling/groping with MPAA over its, er, saucier elements such as the infamous Relaxicisor scene (applied between Guin Turner's legs). It's more cartoonish and stylish than Secretary, but you really do get immersed into a world that most hardly know is there. A blasting dance music sound track and brilliant design, photography, costumes and direction make this a must for anyone interested in the offbeat. Girls especially love it because they stay on top throughout the film.

Rating:
Summary: Who ever said Love wasn't Painful??
Review: Preaching To The Perverted is a visually stunning foray into the bondage nightclub scene, with a surprisingly gentle and heart-warming love story behind it.

The photography, costumes, cast, settings, effect, and music all combine into an exquisitely beautiful and erotic film. If you want dirty "spank me till I bleed" cinema, this is *not* your film. PTTP is a gorgeous visual delight with an industrial/club soundtrack and a lot of eye candy.

There is beauty, love, humor, and yes...a bit of "strapped down" stimulation. Rather like a more risque Exit To Eden, with the stage beauty of All That Jazz.

The Story? Young Peter, played by Christien Anholt (Marcellus in Mel Gibson's Hamlet and a bit part in Power of One) is recruited by Henry Harding (Tom Bell), member of Parliament who heads the United Front Opposing Filth.

They send Peter into the heart of the sex and fetish clubs in order to gather evidence for prosecution in his campaign to shut down the industry. Peter is a fresh innocent, who surprisingly holds himself rather open-minded in his investigation.

In the House of Thwax, he meets Dominatrix Tanya Cheex (played superbly by Guinevere Turner) who begins to gently introduce him into her world.

Along the way, Peter finds himself attracted to Tanya, and realizes that he does not want for her to go to jail in Harding's prosecution. He must make a choice now, not only about the prosecution, but whether the clubs actually cause any harm to anyone.

What I really liked about Peter was that in all he went through, he never lost his innocence, or his inner strength. He manages to stay steadfast in his beliefs and uncorrupted, while at the same time accepting the diversity of others.

And while Tanya is the ultimate beauty with her own convictions; sassy and spirited and free, she learns that sometimes soft does not mean weak.

This really is a great film. I laughed my butt off at the "horse and carriage" scene, I almost cried at the ending, and throughout the entirety of it, I gasped in pleasure at the overall beauty of it. This is human nature at its best, not its worst, and as long as you are not repelled by a many "northern orbital body" scenes and a few spankings, I think that you will agree that Preaching To The Perverted is a beautifully done masterpiece. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Who ever said Love wasn't Painful??
Review: Preaching To The Perverted is a visually stunning foray into the bondage nightclub scene, with a surprisingly gentle and heart-warming love story behind it.

The photography, costumes, cast, settings, effect, and music all combine into an exquisitely beautiful and erotic film. If you want dirty "spank me till I bleed" cinema, this is *not* your film. PTTP is a gorgeous visual delight with an industrial/club soundtrack and a lot of eye candy.

There is beauty, love, humor, and yes...a bit of "strapped down" stimulation. Rather like a more risque Exit To Eden, with the stage beauty of All That Jazz.

The Story? Young Peter, played by Christien Anholt (Marcellus in Mel Gibson's Hamlet and a bit part in Power of One) is recruited by Henry Harding (Tom Bell), member of Parliament who heads the United Front Opposing Filth.

They send Peter into the heart of the sex and fetish clubs in order to gather evidence for prosecution in his campaign to shut down the industry. Peter is a fresh innocent, who surprisingly holds himself rather open-minded in his investigation.

In the House of Thwax, he meets Dominatrix Tanya Cheex (played superbly by Guinevere Turner) who begins to gently introduce him into her world.

Along the way, Peter finds himself attracted to Tanya, and realizes that he does not want for her to go to jail in Harding's prosecution. He must make a choice now, not only about the prosecution, but whether the clubs actually cause any harm to anyone.

What I really liked about Peter was that in all he went through, he never lost his innocence, or his inner strength. He manages to stay steadfast in his beliefs and uncorrupted, while at the same time accepting the diversity of others.

And while Tanya is the ultimate beauty with her own convictions; sassy and spirited and free, she learns that sometimes soft does not mean weak.

This really is a great film. I laughed my butt off at the "horse and carriage" scene, I almost cried at the ending, and throughout the entirety of it, I gasped in pleasure at the overall beauty of it. This is human nature at its best, not its worst, and as long as you are not repelled by a many "northern orbital body" scenes and a few spankings, I think that you will agree that Preaching To The Perverted is a beautifully done masterpiece. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Introduction to diverse lifestyle
Review: This is a fun movie for fetishists and non fetishists alike. Fetishists will find it amusing and will consider it light entertainment. Non fetishists will find an introductory view point on the BDSM scene without being drawn in to close.
The strong point of this movie is the atmosphere and scene creation using authentic costumes and realistic sets.
The lead and her supportive actress are enticing and play their parts with an engaging style. Enjoyable on the easy side of entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: Stylish and Funny
Review: This is a marvelous movie (not five star since I save that for things that stand the test of time) -- funny, stylish, delighting in itself. The background players, many of them actual members of the London Fetish scene, seem to be having a marvelous time and are definitely eye candy. The story is simple and the humor somewhat predictable, but the sets and costumes make it worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: Stylish and Funny
Review: This is a marvelous movie (not five star since I save that for things that stand the test of time) -- funny, stylish, delighting in itself. The background players, many of them actual members of the London Fetish scene, seem to be having a marvelous time and are definitely eye candy. The story is simple and the humor somewhat predictable, but the sets and costumes make it worth watching.