Blu-ray Review: Hussy

STUDIO: Twilight Time | DIRECTOR: Matthew Chapman | CAST: Helen Mirren, John Shea, Paul Angelis, Murray Salem, Jenny Runacre, Patti Boulaye, Marika Rivera
RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2019 | PRICE: Blu-ray $22.46
BONUSES: trailer
SPECS: R | 95 min. | Drama | 1.85:1 widescreen | DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie  | Audio | Video | Overall

From 1980, Hussy starring Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold) is not nearly as titillating as its title and titular leading lady’s star turn imply.

That said, it’s an acceptable drama–with some thriller elements towards the end–about seasoned London hooker Beaty who works in an upscalish cabaret and gets involved with an American named Emory (John Shea, An Invisible Sign) who works there as a lighting techie. She’s got a nasty former boyfriend (Paul Angelis) and is the mother of a 10-year-old son who lives with her ex; he’s got a gay friend (Murray Salem) who wants to make some serious cash in a drug deal and a former wife who died under shady circumstances.

So Beaty and Emory fall in love, but not before Beaty reveals that she doesn’t kiss her clients—but she does do everything else!

Written and directed by Matthew Chapman (Heart of Midnight), the always-game Ms. Mirren is the best reason to pick this one up. The late Seventies and early Eighties found her getting naughty—and frequently nude—in such diverse flicks as the fantastical Excalibur (1981), the British gangster opus The Long Good Friday (1980) and 1979’s infamous Caligula, which makes Hussy almost seem like a rom-com.