Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Michelle Ridley
The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
kayaker-6
Where the first season had a self confident Belle giving us an insight into the world of a call girl, the second and third season seems to be more like a bad soap opera, about love and uncertainty with a bumbling Belle making all kinds of mistakes.After having seen only a few season two episodes, I was starting to get really disappointed. The "based on the book" part seems to be only true for the main character, and only at the surface. The witty, powerful and strong Belle had crumbled to become a superficial character. The interview between Billie Piper and the real Belle also showed how far the character has strayed from the real life Belle in the second series.The third season doesn't fare much better than the second.I'd say that's an opportunity lost by the writers of this series, which unfortunately is more and more often the case with TV series nowadays.
kaiofhearts
"Secret Diary of a Call Girl" is one of those shows that go nowhere. Sure there may be some resemblance of a longstanding plot, but in the end you're exactly where you started from. It's not like it's a loop, or a full circle - you just haven't gotten anywhere.And I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, not at all actually. It's kind of comforting to know that when you watch it, it's just to entertain you. It has a kind of calming feeling to it - something that's incredibly hard to find. Yes, the main character's life goes up in flames, whatever, it still has the same calamity as it does when she's having sex. And even then, the scenes aren't exactly erotic. Their more awkward, and present.The greatest part of this show is that its irresistible. It doesn't have the addictiveness of really good Chinese, or ice cream (for example), but it wont turn you off like the food you've been eating every meal for the past month might. While the writing might not be the best, and half the shots are filler, you always know that you could skip an episode and it wouldn't matter.While the chemistry between Hannah/Belle and Ben is undeniable, it's almost hard to resist Alex's charm as well. While season one is much better then season two, season two is most definitely not bad, and almost feels like an end to a series. But, to the viewing pleasure of many, a third season is on its way."Secret Diary" is by no means perfect, but it is enjoyable. And I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
davideo-2
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning THE SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL-SEASON 1 To all those close to her, Hannah is a boring office clerk- but her secret profession gives her the title Belle de Jour, a high class prostitute who will entertain every man's kinkiest fantasy for the right price. The first series follows the trials and tribulations of her life, as she copes with the pressures being a call girl entails whilst dealing with her problems outside of work.The secret diaries of Belle de Jour, who claimed to be a high class escort in a series of memoirs, has caused a stir for years, with claims she doesn't even really exist or is a secret identity who simply made it all up for publicity. This glossy adaptation of her books also created quite a sensation when it came out, rather too explicit and saucy for terrestrial telly and so confined to the more remote sector of digital TV channel ITV 2. It was even more shocking that former squeaky clean teen pop singer Billie Piper was taking the lead role.However hard it tried and whatever other pretensions it may have had, whether it liked it or not, the first series almost certainly succeeded more as a piece of seedy voyeurism (watching Billie being a dirty, bad girl!) rather than being an intelligent, sharply written comedy about life in the sex trade. Which is a bit of a shame, since it does succeed at times with some quite funny sitcom moments (including Belle being quite graphically introduced to the joys of being a dominatrix prostitute!) and sharp pieces of comic writing, and this does help it along a lot. Whether it's all just a load of make believe is debatable but the writer of the original source material was definitely a bit fantastical with her claims. I doubt very much that any escort really has an apartment as swanky as Belle's, or lives a life as glamorous and exciting as she makes it out to be. Some abused ex hookers were up in arms about claims the show glamorized prostitution and I can sort of see where they were coming from. I've never known an ex hooker with a traumatic past/experiences but...In the lead role, Piper carries the part with the right amount of class and style, a little bland at times but the role's all hers now. There's some pretty good support too, from Iddo Goldberg as her ex lover/best mate and Cheri Lunghi as her hard faced cow boss, who at 55 still looks incredibly attractive herself as an older woman (could maybe still pull a few punters herself...) More anticipated as a piece of free porn from ITV 2 (well, about time subscribers got some value for money!) and quite divorced from reality indeed, but not as bad as some might say. ***SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL-SEASON 2Belle's still getting by in the world of high class prostitution. However, one afternoon a c*ck up (ahem!) with a name in a hotel meeting leads her by chance to a meeting with a handsome doctor. Curious to know what a 'normal life' of dating and relationships would entail, she meets up with him again and becomes close to him. But complications with her work and other aspects of her personal life force her to question what she wants out of and where she's going with her life.The show obviously garnered enough of an interest on it's limited subscription channel to warrant a second series, and here it is with the original lead star. What's surprising is it's lack of faithfulness to the original's style. Those tuning in for more perverse titillation will be sourly disappointed as the racy sex scenes are kept to a minimum this time round and the series focuses more on the human dramas Belle faces. It plays like a corny daytime soap opera and is all the less interesting for it. None of the cast deliver strong enough performances to stir anything up and before long you're preying Series 3 will never come around. **
DVD_Connoisseur
"Secret Diary of a Call Girl", Billie Piper's controversial and highly adult series, is the first home-grown drama from ITV2. Based on the blog and subsequent novel by the mysterious Belle de Jour, this is an insight into the life of a high-end call girl who turns normal prostitute stereotypes on their head. Annoyingly, the production has a slightly soft focus sheen which gives it a somewhat abstract (and low budget) feel. Visualise an '80s pop promo and you'll know what I mean!It's only a matter of minutes before the first episode kicks into gear with Piper delivering energetic, simulated fellatio on a gawping customer. For British television, this is no-holds-barred stuff with "F" and "C" words, and relatively graphic imagery at every turn. I was pleasantly surprised at the bravery of this drama - it doesn't disappoint but despite the sexual gymnastics on display, the series lacks any real erotic content. It has the substance of a late-night MTV video.Piper herself delivers a great performance. She's as likable as always as both Hannah and her late-night alter ego and she makes the most of the relatively light material contained within the script.The beautiful Cherie Lunghi plays Piper's agent, Stephanie, a no-nonsense, straight-talking businesswoman. Marvellous stuff.8 out of 10. With this series, Piper has shrugged off the shadow of "Doctor Who"'s Rose and entered a whole new territory. Without a doubt, she's an actress that will continue to enjoy success in the fields of television and cinema.
