Wish You Were Here is a delightful, moving and exceptional film for many reasons, but the most unusual is that it is one of two films written by David Leland (Mona Lisa) about a real person, the famous British madame, Cynthia Payne, which were both released in the same year--1987. (Both films claim to be fiction) Wish chronicles her youthful scandals; the other film,Terry Jones', Personal Services (1987) chronicles her adult scandals.
The two films are very different in style (this film being the more conventional of the two) but the character of Payne remains refreshingly the same. In Wish You Were Here the desperate pleading of a lonely young girl for love and affection takes a bizarre path helped by her rebellious and outspoken candid observations. It is her impatience with hypocrisy coupled with her desperate need that make this teenager so sympathetic. That, and her great sense of humor.
The colorful sex scenes filled with surprises keep the viewer disarmed, but mainly it is the main character's shining virtues of honesty, non-conformity, and defiance that makes this film a special one for young people. The scene with the therapist, matching dirty words, is one of the funniest on film, especially watching the marvelous way Emily Lloyd molds her reactions and then goes in for the kill. Emily Lloyd's career never lived up to this early brilliant performance, but her work here is so dazzling, it gives her a place in film history. Highly recommended for all teenagers who feel out of place and for adults who do, too.
Why hasn't this film moved to DVD? (only in England and Germany!) It's a rare find, and you may be both surprised and delighted!.
