Preaching to the Perverted
Encyclopedia
Preaching to the Perverted is a 1997
British
comedy film
written and directed by Stuart Urban
.
The film stars Guinevere Turner
as Tanya Cheex, a New York
dominatrix
. Tom Bell
plays Henry Harding MP and Christien Anholt
plays Peter Emery. In addition, several well-known BDSM
performance artists appear:
The film was originally developed by the BBC
, but they later dropped the script, believing it would never be capable of showing the movie on UK TV. However, in April 2004 the movie was shown on terrestrial TV in the UK on BBC1.
The film was banned in Ireland
by then film censor
Sheamus Smith.
BDSM
scene. Harding is set on putting a club called "House of Thwax" run by Mistress Tanya Cheex out of business, and is sure that Peter's secretly videotaped evidence of the club's activities will do the trick. However, the virginal Peter takes a liking to Tanya Cheex and finds himself falling for the Mistress. Amongst the locations used Layer Marney Tower
in Essex
plays a pivotal role for a party scene.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Stuart Urban
Stuart Urban
Stuart Urban is a British film and television director. At the age of thirteen in 1972, he became the youngest director to have a film shown at the Cannes Film Festival with his short feature The Virus of War...
.
The film stars Guinevere Turner
Guinevere Turner
Guinevere Turner is an American actress, writer and director. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She is best known as the screenwriter of such films as American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page and for playing the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in Preaching to the Perverted.-...
as Tanya Cheex, a New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
. Tom Bell
Tom Bell (actor)
Tom Bell was an English actor on stage, film and television. He was dark-haired, lean, and in his later years often played characters having a sinister side to their nature.-Biography:...
plays Henry Harding MP and Christien Anholt
Christien Anholt
Christien Alexis Anholt is an English stage, television and film actor best known for his role as Nigel Bailey on the television series Relic Hunter...
plays Peter Emery. In addition, several well-known BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
performance artists appear:
- Chaos Clowns
- Luci the Axle Grinder, also known as "Lucifire"
- Miss Kimberly
- The Fetisnonn
- Suzi Woodroffe
- Tutu
The film was originally developed by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, but they later dropped the script, believing it would never be capable of showing the movie on UK TV. However, in April 2004 the movie was shown on terrestrial TV in the UK on BBC1.
The film was banned in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
by then film censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
Sheamus Smith.
Plot
Henry Harding MP, a British government minister on a moral crusade, hires an inexperienced young computer whizzkid, Peter Emery who works for a Christian computer company called Holy Hardware, to infiltrate the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
scene. Harding is set on putting a club called "House of Thwax" run by Mistress Tanya Cheex out of business, and is sure that Peter's secretly videotaped evidence of the club's activities will do the trick. However, the virginal Peter takes a liking to Tanya Cheex and finds himself falling for the Mistress. Amongst the locations used Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower
Layer Marney Tower is a Tudor palace, composed of buildings, gardens and parkland, dating from 1520 situated in Layer Marney near Colchester, Essex, England.-History:...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
plays a pivotal role for a party scene.
Cast
- Guinevere TurnerGuinevere TurnerGuinevere Turner is an American actress, writer and director. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She is best known as the screenwriter of such films as American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page and for playing the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in Preaching to the Perverted.-...
.... Tanya Cheex - Christien AnholtChristien AnholtChristien Alexis Anholt is an English stage, television and film actor best known for his role as Nigel Bailey on the television series Relic Hunter...
.... Peter Emery - Tom BellTom Bell (actor)Tom Bell was an English actor on stage, film and television. He was dark-haired, lean, and in his later years often played characters having a sinister side to their nature.-Biography:...
.... Henry Harding MP - Julie GrahamJulie GrahamJulie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in...
.... Eugenie - Georgina HaleGeorgina HaleGeorgina Hale is an award-winning English actress notable for many stage, film and television appearances; often in the works of director Ken Russell and writer Simon Gray...
.... Miss Wilderspin - Julian WadhamJulian Wadham-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
.... M'Learned Friend - Ricky TomlinsonRicky TomlinsonEric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
.... Fibbin' Gibbins - Roger Lloyd PackRoger Lloyd PackRoger Lloyd-Pack is an English actor known for his roles in the TV shows The Vicar of Dibley, Only Fools and Horses and The Old Guys.-Career:...
.... Mr. Cutts Watson - Sue JohnstonSue JohnstonSusan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
.... Esmeralda - Don HendersonDon HendersonDon Henderson was an English actor whose film and TV work covered many years but is best remembered for his role as the fictional detective George Bulman...
.... Commander Cope
Reviews
- "The film boasts excellent costumes, good acting and is a great vision of what goes on in a good fetish club. Highly recommended!" Secret Magazine, February 2003
- "...the club scenes all look fabulous: intelligent use of colour and light." Erotic Review, December 2002
- "Those who actively participate in the S&M lifestyle may enjoy the lighthearted look at the underground fetish scene, but anyone looking for much more than an offbeat sex comedy is going to be woefully disappointed. Preaching to the Perverted lives up to its name by not being able to appeal to anyone but perverts." Qwipster's Movie Reviews, December 2003
Awards
- Guinevere Turner - 1999 Best Actress Prize, Festival du Jeune Comedien
- 2002 Audience Choice Award, CineKink Festival