Good Luck To You, Leo Grande Review: Emma Thompson's Hulu Drama Fails to Titillate

Nobody gets up in the morning and thinks, "Gee, I wonder if Emma Thompson will ever have an orgasm?" And yet this is, at least partially, the primary thrust of Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, a comedic drama debuting on Hulu.

Of course it isn't really Emma Thompson, it's her character, and the orgasm in question is (at least partially) symbolic of her ability to come into her own as an independent woman, even later in life. The movie, written by British comic Katy Brand and directed by Australian Sophie Hyde, is basically a filmed play, taking place almost entirely inside a hotel room during three separate encounters. That kind of structure is a turnoff for many, but Thompson's performance is nuanced and alluring enough that viewers with sturdy attention spans may find something appealing.

Thompson plays a widow named… well, part of this is that we're not supposed to know anyone's real name, at least not at first. For now we'll just say she is a very proper woman — a religious studies teacher, even — and, having been widowed for a stretch of time, she's hired Daryl McCormack for his sexual services.

5.0

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

at Hulu

Like

• Good performances especially from Emma Thompson
• Nice to see a central character be an older woman

Dislike

• Nothing surprising ever happens
• The set up seems somewhat unbelievable

McCormack, who presents himself as Leo Grande, is a gentle, handsome saint with a light Irish brogue, who (so long as the credit card charges have cleared) lives only to serve uncomfortable women yearning for an hour's pleasure. He says all the right things, never gets discouraged and, so he claims, does not require any "little blue pills" to perform his duties. Even for his clients who are disfigured or over 80 he finds something magical permeating their essence, and is roused to create a passionate moment!

Such talk would make any woman swoon, and Thompson, after a considerable amount of "oh, this is crazy!" self-sabotaging delays eventually succumbs to his charms. Hardly a wealthy woman, the first session is meant to be the last, but once you've had a night with Leo Grande, you want another.

As we learn over time (it takes a lot of talking before our heroine feels comfortable committing to the acts she's paid for), physical intimacy has never been a major part of her life. Her ex-husband was a dud in the sack, and one discovers that this somewhat cold woman doesn't really have that much affection for her two grown children, either. When she talks about her years as a teacher, she paints a picture of being strict and unpleasant. She yearns for intimacy with someone young and handsome, but also thinks hiring sex workers is wrong. She is a woman knotted in contradiction.

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Perhaps it is due to exposure to too many other films, but I kept waiting for some dark twist or surprise to wreak havoc on this quiet, contemplative tale. While there is, at around the 70-minute mark, a dramatic wrinkle, this movie doesn't have much on its mind other than McCormack working as a sounding board as Thompson grows to realize that maybe she should, you know, chill out a little.

Films (and plays) are all about the suspension of disbelief, but it's worth pointing out that Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is as preposterous as any Marvel movie. I don't mean to hose down this hotel room with cold water, but I just don't think transactional encounters like this work this way. No dreamy man is going to put himself through the wringer of three life-altering pep talks, even if he is on the clock. She keeps saying "no" and offering to pay for the time — you would think this would be his cue to hit the road. It's a little frustrating. Do you ever keep working when the boss tells you it's quitting time?

Even though Emma Thompson is one of the most charming performers ever to go before cameras, there's only so much she can do. The dialogue remains crisp, and I admire any movie that has "a woman of a certain age" as its central character. But by the end of act three, listening to this person mope in self-doubt really did begin to feel like work.

Premieres: Friday, June 17 on Hulu
Who's in it: Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack
Who's behind it: Sophie Hyde (director), Katy Brand (writer)
For fans of: Plays, women of a certain age, chit-chats