Sex with a Smile (1976)

Director: Sergio Martino

Writers: Tonino Guerra, Sergio Martino, Giorgio Salvioni

Composers: Guido & Maurizio De Angelis

Starring: Barbara Bouchet, Edwige Fenech, Dayle Haddon, Marty Feldman, Tomas Milian, Alberto Lionello, Aldo Maccione, Enrico Montesano, Giovanna Ralli, Sydne Rome, Christian Aligny

More info: IMDb

Tagline: After you've tried everything else... try Sex with a Smile.

Plot: Five short comic sketches, all unrelated to each other, except that they are all expressions of Italian sexual humor.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

This Italian sex comedy anthology has its hits and misses (more of the latter).  It's no fun not being amused with a comedy and I found myself in that position frequently BUT there are some highlights that make this just tip the scales to recommend it...barely.

Story 1 - One for the Money - I didn't laugh once but goddamn the punchline is fucking hilarious and that's the truth.

Story 2 -  Bodyguard - Marty Feldman is a physical comedy genius.  I love this guy's work.  He's hilarious in this one but you only get to see him and not hear him because he was dubbed by someone else who does a decent job of trying to sound like him.  I found this one to be the most entertaining tale of the lot.

Story 3 - Catch It While It's Hot - This one is not funny but, like the first story, it's got a good, surprising punchline.

Story 4 - Dream Girl - I almost didn't recognize Tomas Milian under that getup.  This one wasn't funny, either.

Story 5 - A Dog's Day - And finally the film wraps up with another unfunny story.

I'd be interested to find out if this picture made money or even knowing if it was a popular film at the time because I rarely found most of this picture amusing.  I laughed during Marty's segment but that was only because of what he brought to the picture. There is some nudity (mostly in the first story) which helps.  All of the women are beautiful and sexy (by design in a film like this).  They're the stronger sex in this movie and the men are weak and at the mercy of their carnal desires.  The humor is base and slapstick-y.  This movie was not made for the pinkies out, monocle crowd.  Readers of the New Yorker should sit this one out.  There's not much to recommend on this one but what's there that I liked, I really like.