Pretty Good

Better Late Then Never

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

One aspect of Brass' dirty fancies is that they're meant as colossal, lively, bizarre fun. But that's not just Brass—of course; that's a whole slice of the Italian genre cinema—the Italian dirty flicks ….Brass is only (and this, symbolically—not even chronologically) the torchbearer of this movement.Monella (1998) is indeed quite a movie; and, erotically, it was Serena Grandi's swansong. Of course, there are also Anna Ammirati, Edith Rozanyai, Laura Trotter, Francesca Nunzi, Susanna Martinková—but, with MONELLA, Mrs. Grandi, at 40 yrs., left the movies. For me at least, Serena is the true, gorgeous, awesome star of MONELLA. At 40, she had what to show; she was older than Mrs. Sandrelli in LA CHIAVE—and what a body! MONELLA is the Brassian sex—feast par excellence. The master conceived his flick as a sex—parade, back to the grimly serene, funny naturalism of MIRANDA (or, less well handled, PAPRIKA).Mrs. Grandi wasn't as solicited by the directors as she should have been; regardless, she is , together with Sandrelli, Koll, Dellera, Caprioglio, Miti, one of the core actresses of the erotica. These girls' movies are indeed textbooks.

This was only my 3rd Brass after CALIGULA (1979) - which I watched in London - and DEADLY SWEET (1967; his best film by far, so far) - viewed during the Italian B-movie retrospective at the 2004 Venice Film Festival.Well, frivolous is right as nothing much happens during the course of the film; at least, though, it's lighthearted - unlike, say, Bigas Luna's BAMBOLA (1996; see review above) - even if in a vulgar way and, given the explicit nature of its copious nudity, occasionally erotic. Still, the leading performance by non-professional (and perennially giggly) Anna Ammirati - whom Brass reportedly discovered, literally, by way of a car accident! - is annoyingly one-dimensional. Like BAMBOLA, the leading lady's mother is played by a well-known actress (i.e. known more for her physical attributes than her acting talent), Serena Grandi - who had earlier starred in Brass' MIRANDA (1985). A surprising cast member is Patrick Mower as Grandi's suave but lewd lover (who naturally has his eyes on her daughter too); I was only familiar with him from two good British horror flicks - THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968) and CRY OF THE BANSHEE (1970) - and I wonder how he came to be involved with smut such as this (and, moreover, in Italy)!One of the most notable (but not necessarily noteworthy) elements in the film is the soft-focus cinematography; it's practically shot like that all the way through, which rather kills its intended effectiveness! Brass himself appears as a bandleader at the beginning and end of the movie, the latter during the interminable wedding scene (which rather reminded me of the similar conclusion to Federico Fellini's AMARCORD [1973], also a film with the emphasis on sex and vulgarity but undeniably superior!).

The cover of the DVD has a photo of Lola (Anna Ammarati) on her bicycle, laughing over her shoulder at the camera, her skirt hiked up to her waist and revealing her panty-covered behind.The movie opens with this scene. Lola bicycles around town with her filmy skirt up around her neck, turning all the men on, including two priests who sniff her bicycle seat after she dismounts. Oh, she's a gay creature and a whimsical one. She's about to be married to a young baker but doesn't want to remain a virgin until then so she tries to seduce him in every way, but the young man is a demon of chastity. So Lola starts looking elsewhere for her defloration, but everyone seems frightened away by her forwardness. It's hard to figure out why. She's easy enough on the eyes. But when she puts the moves on her own father, maybe she's going a little too far.There's a credit given for clothing design and I suppose it's deserved, at least for everyone except frivolous Lola who spends half the movie running around buck nekkid. She's seen in a wedding dress at the end but she's not wearing underwear. In the rest of the movie she wears only one outfit -- a red top, easily slipped down, a diaphanous transparent skirt and a pair of white panties (sometimes). There is an abundance of what I think the trade calls up skirt shots.I will tell you something. If this were a real Italian gal in a small village, she'd be put away subito.There isn't much to the story except for Lola's whimsical yet desperate attempts at seduction. The whole thing is a fantasy. A monk admits she turns him on and he appears to masturbate an ear of corn after she kisses his ancient forehead, proving that he may be old but he's not dead. Later he gets a chance to spit out some happy obscenities.The musical score is lively and demotic. The photography bleeds much of the color from the scenes and appears to have been shot through a goldfish bowl. The acting is okay as far as I could tell. I had no objection to Lola's lying in bed and plucking out pubic hairs -- "He loves me," "He loves me not", or whatever it was. I had no real objection to any of it. The problem is that it really isn't very sexy, although there is an abundance of Lola's nudity, and it isn't in the least amusing. I wouldn't sit through it again.

This was one of the worst films I've ever seen. It's stupid, idiotic, insipid, etc. I can't think of all of the words appropriate for this "erotic comedy at its best." The movie was ridiculous! The actors are wooden; the dialogue is ingratiating; and the dubbing is, well, dubbing. In other words this movie is a car accident caught on film.