Transgressing

This flick is a trademark of Brass' films: lots of crotch shots, voyeurism and posterior views of women's rears.

The story starts out about a girl, Carla, who is in London looking for a flat. She gets a break when the realtor is a lesbian and makes sexual advances. Carla's boyfriend, Matteo, gets jealous as he senses his woman is being unfaithful.

This movie has the same plot as "All the Ladies Do It." Nothing original is here, especially the ending when it seems the director says it's okay for a woman to cheat on her man. Oh brother.

All in all, if you like Brass' style of erotic cinema, you'll like Monella 2.

Some films are simply about the appeal of one character. That's all that matters.

There seem to be two types: those that depend on the charm of attractive women, and those that have to work some other engagement. Often that's the acting challenge.

I'm thinking in particular of Audrey Hepburn and "Funny Face." The story and all else is there only to showcase the woman; She is only there for us and we for her. Soft porn should be the place we see much of this, simply because it affords a wider set of seductive options. But it just isn't so. I think there are several reasons for this. When a film is marketed as smut, expectations aren't very high and what you usually get is something that is measured as less than "the real thing."

Tinto Brass, in some of his later films tries to make something genuinely seductive I think, something that is itself. And he has a good eye, a good cinematic sense. Unfortunately for me, what he thinks is seductive in terms of body types doesn't score. Its a cultural thing.

But what he aims for is casual intimacy, the type of casualness that isn't deliberately seductive, but the center of being of the woman. So when you see the nude actress, it is more likely to be her lounging around the house. Its a study in a woman.

A second reason you see this so little is, well, there are few women on screen who can charm like say Audrey Hepburn. The ones that can act go to a different market. The ones who can't end up in the higher paying "adult industry." So it must be quite a challenge for Brass to find a woman sufficiently natural in a sexual appeal to built a film around.

The story in this case if you don't know it is that he found this woman as a waitress in a pizza place and charmed her into the role. She IS successful at being what he needs, apparently because its what she really is. So in a way, its a documentary, if you subtract out the story, which you'll do even if you aren't interested in the process.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

This is perfect after a long week of work. No thinking, just sit back and enjoy Carla (Yuliya Mayarchuk) as she romps throughout London.

First stop is to find a new apartment. This is where she meets Moira (Francesca Nunzi), who is more than willing to share hers at no charge in exchange for some small favors. Oh my! Although the title is Cheeky, and you would expect a focus on that part of the anatomy, I can assure you that there is more than enough focus on the rest of life's treasures in the film. Panties, if worn at all, do not stay on long. In fact, Carla seldom has anything on.

There is a story here, but who cares?

This film was hilarious. Tinto Brass is a very sweet director, I'm hoping to find more of his back catalogue other than Caligula. This film was presented at American Film Market this year. Usually, investors come in and out of films after 20 minutes with a decision to buy or distribute, but for some reason, nobody could stand up until the end of this film. If you see the film, you'll understand why.

tinto brass has made another of his cardboard copy comedies, with plenty of shots of the rump, and eccentric morality...

cheeky follows the exploits of a young woman travelling to London, and dealing with the jealousy of her boyfriend... as she seems to put up a very weak resistance to all advances, perhaps his response is justified... however, brass has a moral to the story, and when the young man learns his lesson, he realises HE was at fault the whole time... his lover was just keeping the spark alive in icy old england!... watch the interview with brass on the DVD and all will make sense... sort of... well not really...

basically, i think that the erotic genre is a place fraught with danger... move too slowly, and it becomes dull... too excessive, and it becomes... well, very stupid (or vulgar)... cheeky definitely flits over the line a few times, but i'll forgive it, because despite all the borderline perversion threatening to creep in (flashers, raincoat voyeurs, and old, seedy men), it's basically a harmless bit of fluff that is almost charming and innocent in its simplicity...

what's more, brass brings a richness of colour and imagery seldom seen in the soft-core arena... and frankly, that's mostly what it's all about... i've never seen a cheap, soft porn movie that looks as good as this film does...

brass has definitely upped the explicit side of things, stopping short of the unsimulated act, but focusing far more on genitalia and intrusion... personally, i prefer a little rawness, but some may find it a little too crass...

the dubbing is an absolute crime against humanity... it is hilarious to hear the bad English accents in place of the usual silly 50's American drawl, however....

this is an extremely slight movie, with highly unsophisticated comedy (in fact, much of the movie is simply our lead actress prancing around naked)... however, this does beat an 80's movie featuring some guy with a square haircut rubbing himself against a girl with a big perm... watch it with low expectations, and it may be a bit of fun... otherwise, avoid it like English pizza...