That was an excellent one.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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!

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...

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.