Lovers and Liars

Someone gets a call in the middle of the night. Someone finds out that someone else had a heart attack. Confusing ? It gets even more confusing, but then if you have the patience to hang with it, it does start making more sense. Anita (Goldie Hawn) meets some guy (Giancarlo Giannini), the ex lover of her roommate, and catches a ride with him. Much like Chevy Chase's Vacation, everything that can go wrong DOES go wrong. It's a grand adventure of a road trip, and they have some ups and downs along the way. Lots of writers listed on this one, so if it seems a bit disjointed, it has good reason to. Goldie made this one just after Foul Play. Giannini had also been nominated for an Oscar. The trivia says this was going to be a Fellini project, so as odd as it is, its probably more normal than if HE had done it!

This was finally directed by Mario Monicelli, who had been nominated for two Oscars for best writing in the 1960s. Overall, its pretty good; just a shame that Sophia Loren couldn't make it way back when. IMDb thinks the run time is 120 minutes, but the DVD from DML is only 95 minutes, so this version is missing a whole chunk. i will try to add this run time to IMDb.

As a huge Goldie Hawn fan, I collect all her films. I spotted this DVD for $4.99 brand new and thought it was a bargain. I have never heard of this title and now I know why. Set in Italy, many of the actor's voices(sans Goldie) are dubbed to English. The plot is lame, the acting is horrible, and only Goldie Hawn gives a good performance(I have yet to see a movie in which Goldie wasn't good). But even the talents of Goldie Hawn cannot save this horrible excuse for a film. If you are a Goldie fan, and feel you need to have this in your collection, don't expect anything special from this 1970's era film. If you are not a Goldie fan, avoid this!

It's amazing how even big-name stars like Goldie Hawn, smack dab in the middle of their career can record a total idiotic flop like this that #1) no one ever heard of ... #2) really poor script, shooting, and acting ... but #3) is fun.

That's what this is. What in the name of heaven prompted Ms. Hawn to record this? I found this flick for one buck in the bargain DVD barrel at the dollar store. Was she desperate for work? This was post "Foul Play," so her career was already set. I don't get it.

NEVERTHELESS, now that I have all that off my chest, this was a fun movie, for what it was worth. Giancarlo Giannini almost reminded me a little of Peter Sellers with his slick but bumbling slapstick acting. Goldie Hawn complimented the slapstick.

It's worth watching. But unless you are a die-hard Goldie fan, don't go out of your way to find this rare film.

Knew nothing of this film when I put it in the player, except that Goldie Hawn was central to it. I see the original film ran over 120 minutes, my disc says 96. It should have been even less. The plot is predictable - Italian male professional, married with family has to leave town because of a family crisis. When he can't persuade a woman with whom he had an affair a year previously to come with him on his trip, he takes in her place an American woman (played by Hawn) who happens to be staying with the first woman. The story is an attempt to develop the relationship between Hawn and Giannini.

Some of the element of unbelievability comes from the unbelievable boorishness of the latter. Some of it is contributed by the jumps in continuity. And the poor color control of my disc did not help. Oh, and did I mention the dubbing? There were some interesting insights into Italian family life, and there were some revelations in the last quarter of the movie that in a better director's hands would have portrayed some aspects of Italian family life to much greater effect. The funeral becomes a very interesting occasion.

There is brief nudity near the start and near the end of the film.

Scrappy Italian comedy, made up of bits and pieces, manages to plunk down Goldie Hawn in Rome (this before her career got a second wind with "Private Benjamin"). She's an American actress who gets mixed up with her friend's married lover (Giancarlo Giannini). They have little screwball mishaps and misunderstandings before making hot love in a hammock. Sloppily-edited, and with fuzzy sound and gloppy cinematography, the picture would appear to be an almost total loss were it not for the stars, who have a modicum of chemistry. Besides, Goldie's almost always worth a look. *1/2 from ****