Personal Services (1987) Online

Personal Services is an exceptional film that has been underrated, ignored and obscured by the avalanche of goon comedies which crowd the late 80's and 90's. Its portrait of a kindly brothel keeper do-gooder (which might be described as the kinky, middle aged s&m version of Austen's Emma) is so packed with outrageous imagery, one could forget to admire its level headed attitude toward sex. The glee it takes at exposing the absolute silliness of adults on the subject, as well as its constant stabs at the hypocrisy of the British middle class makes it stand out. Neither of those subjects are particularly unknown to British comedy, of course, but Personal Services never lets up, and skewers so many shoddy English values at the rate of swatting flies.

The film is a strong departure of style for Terry Jones, its director, whose former The Meaning of Life would lead us to imagine another style altogether. Certainly he is drawn to the material for its surrealistic and madcap flavor, but he surprisingly brings qualities of realism, detail and nitty-grit to the episodes that help keep the film grounded in a believable social milieu.

The script, by David Leland (Mona Lisa) is a fictional account that follows the rise of Cynthia Payne, the English madame who became the darling of the English press after several arrests in the middle 80's. Leland also wrote and directed a film released the same year (Wish You Were Here) which captures Payne in her teen-age years, but Personal Services is much tighter, rapid-fire and more ambitious.

The film veers between outrageous comic episodes and very real emotional moments that reflect the social realist scenes of earlier English films like A Taste of Honey and Room at the Top. The struggle of a woman deciding whether to take the plunge and become a prostitute; the scene where the heroine confronts her distant dad at her sister's wedding; the scenes that reflect the loneliness and isolation the heroine feels may not seem appropriate in a pull-out-all-the-stops laugh fest, but they help to deepen the themes of the film, and give it both depth and breath. One of the more melancholy themes that stays dominant in the film is the deep emotional price one must pay for being a non-conformist.

The vivid imagery Jones brought to the Monty Python films serves an equally symbolic purpose here. The image of a prostitute with angel's wings flapping pitifully about a moonlit garden as she tries to escape the policeman who tackles her is an image which welds perfectly the film's sacred and profane themes and is unforgettable. And there are so many daring, in your face scenes ––the discipline scenes in the brothel; the exposure of Dotty in the john; the marvelous gift the madame gives both her father and son–– and they keep the film more surprising and fresh than most sex comedies of the 90's.

Julie Waters gives one of her wittiest, shaded, and full performances but she is only one–– the many character actors in the film are perfect in tone and work together in extraordinary ways. The film serves as a reality check about one's own up-tight attitudes about sex. (Your own squirming should be a revelation! ) American viewers need to be very much on their toes, however, because some of the funniest dialogue is rapid (with authentic accents) and often thrown away. Also helpful is to realize the slang expression `willie' does NOT refer to a dolphin, but to a guy's you know what.

I am always running into people who discovered this film on their own, and hold it high on their list of the greatest comedies. I urge you to discover it for yourself!

This film has a preface that it is fiction, and though the writer David Leland was inspired by a book by Cynthia Payne - the infamous British Madam - this is not the story of Cynthia Payne. The disclaimer is repeated at the end, and then we see that the production consultant was Cynthia Payne. Perhaps there was a legal necessity for Madam Payne and the film-makers to provide this escape clause, since the film's madam, named Christine Painter, was charged with possessing obscene material for gain and running a brothel.

What makes this madam's brothel different is that Christine's clientele is gentlemen over 40 with a taste for kink, though the bondage and discipline we see is very mild. You would have to be extremely prudish to be offended by such behaviour. What makes these scenes so funny is how ordinary the customers are, which only reinforces the hypocrisy of the laws that consider prostitution a crime, and the insight the "tarts" have into men's sexuality. I loved the line "When the balls are full, the brain is empty", and the madam's argument that wives would never be wanting for anything as long as they kept their men "de-spunked".

As Christine, Julie Walters delivers a brilliant comic performance. She is a no-nonsense uppity woman, constantly in motion, who has never cared for sex but enters into the business for economic reasons. The ads posted in a shop window are deliberately double entendre-d eg large chest for sale, french polishing available. Walters looks surprising voluptuous here though as she becomes more successful she starts to resemble a drag queen. When she attends her sister's wedding, there is a confrontation scene with her father, and we see what a fool he is for not appreciating her.

Director Terry Jones came from the Monty Python group but it is to his credit that the humor is not juvenile or in poor taste. Walters does have an odd scene where she is suddenly in an exotic location and spying on a couple having sex, another where a revolving camera glorifies her romantic fantasies, and the circumstances of a missed "normal" date hint at that old chestnut that whores are doomed to die lonely. But overall the tone is light and positive. Special mention is made of Shirley Stelfox as the stern "Nanny", and Danny Schiller as the maid with an undetermined sex.

Very funny movie, one of my favorites. The entire cast was great but Julia Walters was excellent, as always. "Popazokaloo" should have become a household word, apparently not enough people saw the movie. The scene in the loo will make you laugh till you cry. I find it interesting that the men I know that have seen the movie don't find it as amusing as the women who have viewed it do. (Watch it and draw your own conclusions about my observation.)

The story of Cynthia Payne (London's notorious 'Luncheon Voucher Madam') could have easily been made into a tawdry little sex farce, but underneath all the kinky detail is a film aspiring toward something more than just another naughty biography. Julie Walters' vivid performance, bristling with barely suppressed nervous energy, creates a memorable portrait of a working class girl who, to make ends meet, opens a cheerfully uninhibited suburban brothel catering to the milder perversions of errant older gentlemen: costume fantasies; flagellation; transvestitism, and so forth. There's plenty of wit (much of it with a sharp edge) in David Leland's screenplay, which despite its forthright lack of inhibition is remarkably tolerant of (and even sympathetic to) the shortcomings of its characters. Names have been changed to protect the innocent (and hide the guilty), but the facts are essentially true (despite a pair of disclaimers) and Terry Jones' direction shows more tact than otherwise might be expected from a former member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a troupe never known for their subtlety or discretion.

beautifully acted, unexpectedly moving, hilarious, and at times very, very dirty, this film is "inspired by" the life of cynthia payne, one of the most notorious madame's in britain's history - julie walters is brilliant as a woman who evolves from a waitress struggling to make her rent, to a successful businesswoman running a brothel that caters only to "kinky sorts" - through all of it, she raises a son, forces her father to come to terms with the person his daughter has become, and has difficulty with the "charles and diana" ideal of love that she can never find for herself - perhaps the greatest quality of this film, though, is its ability to shock at every turn - just when you thought you'd seen just how honestly funny kinky sex can be, think again...

Often it is said that you can define a country by the way it deals with that thorny business known as sex. Personal Services is as English as it gets about sex. Based very loosely on the life of English madam Cynthia Payne, Personal Services takes the character of Cynthia Painter and follows her progress from London waitress to a brothel keeper or 'Madam'.

It starts with an accident. Madam is renting out flats but her clients (particularly one) don't pay her rent so she has to pay her landlord in a different way, by offering him sexual favours. Pretty soon, she starts to do this on a regular basis. Usually her clients are old men or men with a particular 'kink' such as wearing rubber and being locked in a cupboard with only a panic button for company. Others prefer being treated like naughty school boys and being spanked by matron or mistress. All this is done in the only way it can be done, the English style, accompanied by ribald comments about male anatomy, cups of tea, transvestites called 'Dolly' and, of course, the law, the police and eventually the crown court judge (who happens to be a Painter client).

It is Belle De Jour without Catherine Deneuvre and with a lot more fun and more honesty. And of course, loads of tea and biscuits.

Loved this movie. Some of the scenes make you squirm. Some unpleasant surprises that are somehow funny. Can't help but like the characters - especially the military man who needs some mahogany polished.

Feisty and resourceful waitress Christine Painter (splendidly played with earthy vigor and steely resolve by Julie Walters) turns to prostitution to support herself. Christine eventually becomes the madame of an immensely successful bordello which happily indulges the kinky carnal whims of an illustrious middle-aged clientèle which includes such respectable folks as judges, bankers, and members of Parliament. Director Terry Jones and screenwriter David Leland concoct a bawdy farce which manages to be quite funny and always engrossing without ever getting too vulgar or sleazy. Instead they treat the sordid subject matter with admirable wit, taste and sensitivity. For example, the clients just want to be accepted and tolerated as the blithely dirty old men that they are. Moreover, there's a surprising and even touching sense of compassion and humanity for the seedy main characters and their seamy profession. In fact, the topic of sexual deviance in its many permutations is handled in a commendably matter of fact way. Walters simply shines in her role; she receives first-rate support from Shirley Stelfox as brash tart Shirley, Danny Schiller as wise old transvestite pal Dotty, Alec McCowen as jolly regular Wing Commander Morten, Tim Woodward as jerky vice cop Timms, and Ewan Hooper as her disapproving father Edward. Well worth seeing.

I saw this once, over ten years ago, and it has become one of my favorite films ever. It's hilarious and always takes an unexpected turn just when you'd think an ordinary movie would get boring. You can expect some majorly hilarious kink; the "gentlemen" do a great job of acting like VIPs in British society, and while some might take offence/offense at the stereotyping going on, just remember that this is (sorta) based on a woman's real-life experiences. This has an extra special connotation of you're an entrepreneur, because the movie's theme bears a strong metaphorical relationship to the life of anyone who is/has ever been in business for themselves and has had to do "all kinds of things" in order to survive the toughness of satisfying your "market". Heh heh. I highly recommend it!

This film is a forgotten British Masterpiece, if only for its portrayal of something we still find difficult to come to terms with now in 2016. Everyone has a little inside them of what is shown here, awakening that, sometimes is beyond our own choices, but for us to begin to understand what makes people tick, this film really needs to be watched. There is a little nudity, but more important, there is good all round acting and a solid belief when you reach the end that your time has not been wasted. If you can indeed find a copy i fully recommend you open a bottle of wine, get out the popcorn, close the curtains, lock the door, put out the granny, and enjoy.

It was brave of the director and cast to make this story, but I keep seeing glimpses of the excellent film it could have been if only the cast would stop yelling and screaming and running about. I suppose this is an attempt to be farcical, and inspires the many comments about what a hilarious laugh riot it is. I want to sympathise with Christine, Dolly and the other woman played excellently by Shirley Stelfox, but I keep being distracted by their method acting - particularly from Julie Walters, who employs her usual tricks and giggles and shouts when she can't think of anything else to do (and when there's nothing to laugh at - but maybe that's the point). Her naivety is a running gag (I thought he was making us a cupboard for us to hang our coats in!), but one that wears thin. The Carry On films at their best were full of English wit - this has none. (Though I liked this exchange: Mr Papazoglou (in see-through negligee) I love my wife! Christine: That's nice.) An opportunity missed.

If you find a poor working - class woman's gradual slide into prostitution funny then feel free to laugh your way through "Personal Services".Cynthia Painter made the best of the bad options available to her(sh#g or starve basically)but no way in real life was "fun" an option. The rest is mostly a myth(albeit a self - serving one)propagated by the Red Tops when Ms Painter's business finally came to their official notice. Late 20th century British sexual hypocrisy is exposed to absolutely no one's surprise and the Judicial System is shown to be open to corruption or so Ms Painter maintains,but then, as an earlier celebrity prostitute Ms Mandy Rice - Davis might say,she would - wouldn't she. Miss Julie Walters - an estimable actress perhaps slightly over - exposed on British television - plays Ms Painter in her customary no nonsense I'm working class and proud of it style.She is at her best in the movie's more serious moments before giving it her all as the wise elderly tart with a heart which was presumably how Ms Painter wanted to portray herself. Men are shown to be mostly weak or crooked or both,barely getting a fair crack of the whip unless it is wielded by Miss Walters or one of her acolytes. The whole media - induced "scandal" about the "People's Madame" was a storm in a teacup and soon forgotten in the newspapers' never - ending hunt for fresh sleaze."Personal Services" too was a bit of a nine days' wonder and Miss Walters herself has gone on to better things.What reputation it has is as a sex comedy but there isn't much sex in it and it isn't funny.Go figure.

How ironic. Who could have possibly guessed it. Who could have known that 25 years later, Terry Jones (the director) would himself become a dirty old man, but a much more wicked dirty old man than the rather harmless perverts featured here. Here's a man who left his wife of 40+ years, to run off with some cheap 20something gold-digging tart old enough to be his granddaughter. Now Grandpa Jones and his Swedish sex-kitten/fantasy-granddaughter are pushing their littler toddler through the streets of London. (Google it and cringe.) Aging gracefully, or at least with a smidgen of dignity, evidently wasn't in the stars for the only Welsh Python. Then again, he always was a filthy old Marxist, not giving a toss about the family unit – and that includes his own. PS celebrates not so much sexual freedom as it romanticizes/celebrates perversion, and we know that left-wingers will always celebrate it, until they're blue in the face, under the guise of "diversity" (their favourite word these days). His wife should have taken this movie seriously, as a sign of her husband's questionable sense of morality.

PS isn't a laugh-out-loud comedy. In fact, it isn't even a laugh-out-a-little comedy. It is chuckle-worthy in several places, but that's about it. What it is though is fairly interesting. Hardly attention-grabbing, mind you, perhaps due to the subject matter which makes this movie quite outdated; the forced tackiness may have shocked some people back in 1987, but it's peanuts now. Jones could not have predicted how decadent the world would become, just decades after this movie was made, which must please his cold Marxist heart or else he would have either made this movie more extreme or binned the project entirely. After all, posterity is what he was after, not just the quick buck; how could anyone possibly think that a Marxist could care about financial again? I think they share everything with everyone anyway – much the way Jones will share his estate with his new Nordic sex-toy. She provides the personal services, he provides the cash and jet-set lifestyle.

Filming a comedy about prostitutes is certainly neither a difficult nor a commercially risky road to travel. The gags write themselves; what's there NOT to laugh about? And yet, this sleazy comedy fails just in that, in spite of the obvious talents and charisma of Julie Walters. They couldn't have picked a better actress for the part, the problem being that she plays it too broadly, no doubt pushed to this kind of performance by Jones.

Unfortunately, her character doesn't make much sense; she is a walking contradiction. Jones and the writer of PS couldn't decide whether they wanted to portray her as bright or downright moronic: there is evidence for both. Her intelligence varies depending on the comedic necessities of the situation/scene at hand, i.e. they wanted to have their cake and eat it too. Her behaviour is puzzling; she sometimes behaves as if she's totally new to the business, and yet we are made to understand that she's been whoring around for many years at the point of her introduction.

The plot-twist involving Julie's maid, Dolly, did not work. It was obvious from the first moment that guy stepped onto the screen that Dolly was a he. Anyone who watched this movie and found themselves in surprise and shock when it was revealed that Dolly is a man needs to have their vision and perhaps even sexual orientation re-examined. It was akin to putting a wig and make-up on Danny de Vito and expecting that "transformation" to fool the viewer.

At best, PS is a semi-failure as a comedy - but not without merit as a time-filler, and certainly nicely filmed. There is little to nothing to learn from Jones's "moral" messages, and there is far too little to laugh at. This subject matter had been covered with far more competence and depth in "Working Girls", a comedy/drama indie film released just a year prior to this one. The notion that behind many chartered accountants, wigged uptight judges, and other upper-class professionals of social repute sexual perverts and ungratified deviates reside is one that Monty Python had already explored several decades earlier, and with much more success.

Still, it's so much better than "Eric the Viking". That one truly sunk Jones's flailing career as movie director.

As a fan of Monty Python, I've watched every movie directed by either Gilliam or Jones, and one day I will manage to watch every single movie featuring them, John Cleese, Eric Idle, and the other guys. "Personal Services" was a bit hard to find, and although I've ranked it slightly below average, the experience of watching it was actually quite a pleasant one.

Since it's based on a real story, I won't waste any time mentioning the plot in my review. The storyline is indeed engaging, and as for the dialog, I believe a decent effort was made by both the writers and the cast. Altogether, Jones' comedic genius is visible and works in many scenes throughout the movie.

However, this was one of the first - if not the first - directing enterprise for Jones after his work with Monty Python, during which he shared directing duties with Gilliam. It's interesting to notice how the director attempts to forge his own style, specially in this case where he was a part of a big ensemble of extremely funny people.

Jones managed to mature his style over his next films, to the point I'd say his last one, "Absolutely Anything", is perfect almost in every way. This movie is the beginning of that and, although it's not brilliant, it's entertaining and worth your time. In some instances it almost looks experimental, like something out of film school. But even when it looks like that, it still feels better than many movies with terrible plots or solid directing. Sometimes a funny person doing a sloppy job directing a good story is enough to make a movie watchable. At least I think it beats renowned directors showing off their Cinema credentials, with an uninteresting plot.

If not anything else, this movie helped me solidify this notion: there is probably nothing more important in Cinema than a good storyline.