Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

Whenever Rupert Everett appears as a rich fellow who distinctly does not fancy ladies, it's a hysterical history lesson of the hilarious variety.

Observer by Rex Reed

Considering the subject, ripe with titillating possibilities, it's surprisingly about as sexy as a week-old meat loaf. Tastefully directed by Tanya Wexler, it is a total joy from start to finish.

Tampa Bay Times by Steve Persall

Hysteria is a one-joke movie, but when a joke is told this well, it doesn't matter.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

Hysteria is a romantic comedy, not an erotic one.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

The performances are spot on, and I especially like the spunky Gyllenhaal, who with this film and the underrated "Secretary" (2002), has built up a nice sideline in sexual exploration.

New York Post by Sara Stewart

If director Tanya Wexler occasionally wanders into excess cutesiness...she makes up for it with a surplus of eye-opening historical details and a refreshing warmth for all her characters, even the ones whose views are clearly on the way out.

The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney

Hysteria, is a pleasurable diversion, even if it could have used a touch more spark in the writing.

Portland Oregonian by Marc Mohan

For a film that shows the folly of failing to take the female orgasm seriously, Hysteria ends up taking a silly angle on a potentially fascinating slice of secret history.

Movieline by Stephanie Zacharek

The picture is at least spirited, a jaunty trifle that's low on eroticism but high on cartoony coquettishness. Like the little motorized whatsit that is its subject, it does have its charms.

Slant Magazine by R. Kurt Osenlund

Hysteria's happy ending isn't the type that calls for a cigarette, and it certainly isn't the one the film deserves.