Several questions about a naughty little comedy

Press, 3 September 1984, Page 4

Several questions about a naughty little comedy

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hans petrovic

BLAME IT ON RIO Directed by Stanley Dones Screenplay by Charlie Peters. and Larry Gelbart “Blame It On Rib”; (Cinerama) might not have been so bad as a naughtly little comedy-if I had not seen exactly the same story done in a better way only nine weeks earlier. At that time, a French farce, "One , Wild Moment,” was showing at the Academy, after an ; earlier screening at the Canterbury Film Festival in May.

In summing up what “Blame It On Rio” is all about, I need only quote the synopsis of “One Wild Moment” (remembering only to substitute Rio for Riviera): “Two lifelong male friends, both in their mid--408, decide to spend their holidays on the Riviera. One is in the process Of divorce and the other estranged from. his wife, and so they are both looking forward to an uncomplicated laze on the beach in the sun, with perhaps a bit of hanky panky if they can work up the energy.

“Each brings along his teen-age daughter. One of these sweet things, an innocent but well developed seventeen, develops a strong crush on her father’s friend, who is flattered by the attention and foolishly allows himself to be drawn into an affair.

“The havoc thisunwise outbreak wreaks on the relationships between friends, fathers, and daughters provides the comic mainspring.” Several questions arise when one sees obviously the same story translated, without any apology, from one language — and country — to another:

® How can something that was a relatively innocent French farce be turned into a dull, slightly sleazy American comedy?

© How can this be done by two respected American film makers: Stanley Donen, the director of “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Charade,” and “Two for the Road,” and Larry Gelbart, the writer of “M.A.S.H.”?

Equally incredible is that the original screenplay by Claude Berri, the writer and director of “One Wild Moment,” was lifted without any acknowledgement that I could find. (Admittedly, in “Blame It On Rio,” the seduced, bewildered father

(Michael Caine) does say, “Last night never happened — it was just one wild moment”)

• How does a well respected, discerning actor like Caine find his way into such a movie? He looks, speaks, and acts as much out of place as if he had just walked out of the dismal set for “The Honorary Consul” into this, equally dreary one (set in Brazil, hot ; Argentina — take your pick, it did not seem to make much difference to a disspirited Caine). To make him look slightly different, he has had his hair set in small curls, much like Judy Davis as the streetwaker in “Winter Of Our Dreams.”

One cannot help but feel that Caine was given his part by the makers of “Blame It On Rio” in the desperate hope, that his normally strong presence would lift an . otherwise weak script. ®. Also interesting is that, for some reason, such material seems much more comfortable in Continental hands than in those of the Americans. Gelbart, and his co-writer, Charlie Peters, felt obliged to change the end, so that the final blame and guilt would not all fall on Caine’s head, including a happy ending and the tying up of loose ends, which were not considered necessary in “One Wild Moment.”

The need for rationalisation and transference of

guilt probably also explains why this version was called “Blame It On Rio” (originally titled “Only In Rio.”) Reviews of “One Wild Moment” called it a “cheeky comedy,” while “Time” magazine described “Blame It On Rio” as “disgusting.” Morally, I did not find the film all that depraved. However, if seduced by a teenager, I would not be so -much, worried about what the girl or her father had to say about it — I would be much more concerned about what my own wife might think.

Michelle Johnson, a model rather than an actress, was obviously chosen because of her topless charms for the role of the nubile nymph. She certainly seemed more concerned with keeping her teeth in place with a brace than worrying about a brassiere. For a film that certainly needed a lift, Donen has also included clips from the zany finale of the 1933 move, “Flying Down: To Rio,” in which showgirls dance on the wings of the planes in flight.