Good Luck to You, Leo Grande: Sexy & Sweet

All I knew about Good Luck to You, Leo Grande was that it starred Emma Thompson as a woman who hires a sex worker after she has spent her entire life never having an orgasm. Also, I knew that at some point in the movie she gets completely naked. And frankly, that's all you should know before you watch this movie too. Within the first five minutes, I had a big smile on my face and knew I was going to love this movie, and by the time I finished it, I was in tears and convinced it was one of the best movies I had seen in my life. So, stop reading this blog post and come back when you've watched the movie, OK?

Alright you're back? Let's begin. This movie is so incredibly charming and sweet and sad and earnest and funny. Emma Thompson is staggeringly wonderful as Nancy Stokes (is that her real name...), a retired Religious Education schoolteacher who was widowed after 31 years of marriage that consisted of extremely boring sex. She has never had an orgasm and in a sudden wild moment, decides to book a sex worker named Leo Grande (definitely not his real name...) for a quick night of passion. Daryl McCormack is devastating as Leo, a kind and confident sex worker who knows that he is good at what he does, possesses a charming swagger that is calculated to put his clients at ease, but is also grappling with some personal issues that will come to the fore as he continues his association with Nancy.

The script by Katy Brand is a complex and intricate wonder, teasing out the insecurities and vulnerabilities that both of these characters have developed over their lifetimes. In Nancy's case, there's a lifetime of societal repression - this is a woman who has been held down by the patriarchy her entire life, and she isn't just going to come out of her shell in her first encounter with Leo. But boy, it is a delight to watch her transform from a horrified prude to a sex-positive evangelist for Leo's good work. And when Leo first struts into the room and soothes Nancy with his dulcet Irish tones, it's hard to imagine that this is a man who carries any baggage. But of course, Nancy needles him mercilessly and strips away those defenses. He is such a funny and engaging man, but when his walls come down and he lays his life bare, this movie really starts firing on all cylinders.

Director Sophie Hyde has coaxed out incredible performances from her two stars and gives this script enough time to breathe and develop and bloom into a gorgeous tale of friendship and self-love. The whole point of this movie is to be a judgment-free zone even though it starts out with Nancy being extremely critical of her decision to hire Leo and of Leo himself. But Leo's philosophy of never judging his clients eventually rubs off on her, and ultimately, this is a story about how wonderful the world would be if we all just stopped criticizing ourselves and each other and simply asked for what we needed. 

I was so happy for Nancy and Leo by the end of this film, but I was also devastated at the thought of how many Nancys exist in the world who will continue to languish in unfulfilling lives of quiet desperation, never being able to ask for what they deserve and never having a Leo Grande in their lives who looks out for their best interests. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande should be required viewing in every Sex Ed class - perhaps if we teach kids now that this is what open and honest communication looks like, they will grow into adults who promote a far more equitable society than the one we have today.