This satirical portrait of the Italian male gives us a Roman man afflicted with an overriding vanity, a growing paunch, encroaching baldness, and a protective mother, a classic "mammone" or "mamma's boy." He enjoys a night out with the boys to share with them feelings of male superiority and remembrances of past athletic glories. For female support, Mario leans on Clara, his fiancée of six years. While willing to share his bed, he is reluctant to share his name with a woman who is obviously more industrious and intelligent than he is. The movie depicts Clara's liberation and Mario's collapsed fantasies and with its analysis of male-female roles is very much a forerunner of the films of Lina Wertmuller. Rossano Brazzi as Mario rarely had a better role and Annie Girardot as Clara is also superb. Called "Engagement Italiano"in its American release, the original title meant "The Girl on Loan" and emphasized the temporariness of Mario's affections.
This film is kind of hard to see today, though I believe the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley owns a 16mm copy.
This film is kind of hard to see today, though I believe the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley owns a 16mm copy.
