Les maniaques

I was initially lured to Italian sex comedies by the naked charms of Italian actresses like Edwige Fenech, Laura Antonelli, Gloria Guida, Nadia Cassini, etc., but I have to admit I've actually kind of grown to like the genre. Although pretty risqué for its time, this 1964 movie is quite a bit tamer than the 1970's ones I'm familiar with, but it is also a lot funnier. As opposed to being one narrative, it is a whole collection of fast-moving skits. Not all of them are very funny, but none really lasts long enough to wear out its welcome.

I'm not crazy about most of the male actors here like Walter Chiari, Franco Fabrizi, and the generally insufferable comedy duo of Franco (Franchi) and Ciccio (Ingrassio), but at least they have some pretty good material to work with here. The female cast is much more interesting. It includes British actresses Barbara Steele and Margaret Lee, both of whom were much more famous for appearing the Italian horror films and gialli thrillers of the era, so it's interesting to see them in a comedy. Steele is especially good as one part of a wife and mistress duo who team up after they begin to suspect that their husband/lover is "cheating" on both of them with (yet) another woman. There's also the gorgeous Italian actress Lisa Gastoni who appears in a skit as a wife whose dullard of a husband is forced to pimp her out in the red-light district after losing a football bet. I've previously seen Gastoni in a couple 70's melodramas, "Scandalo" and "The Seduction", where she bares all both literally and figuratively, but even fully dressed in a small role here she is very sexy and very memorable.

The director of this is none other than Lucio Fulci, the Italian zombimeister himself! Few people outside of Italy know what a great comedy director Fulci was early in his career. True, he did a lot of lame crap with the aforementioned Franco and Ciccio, but he also directed superb satiric sex comedies like "The Eroticist" and "Young Dracula", and I'm amazed there hasn't yet been a legitimate English-language DVD release of "La Pretora", the film he did with Edwige Fenech (it seems like his name and her incredibly perfect breasts would be an sure bet). This is only the second legitimate release of a Fulci comedy (after "The Eroticist") and it amply demonstrates Fulci's gifts as a comedy director. Recommended.

"I Maniaci" is a highly uneven film that is still well worth seeing. It's an Italian film made up of lots of little skits. Some work, some do not. But they come so quickly that even with the lesser ones, you know a good one is soon coming. However, I did notice that the poorest vignettes occurred near the beginning, so if you find your attention waning--hold on--it will get better.

Of the skits, my favorites were the one about the REALLY obnoxious couple who visit a monastery as well as the hitchhiker. They were particularly funny though the rest are generally good. In the last one, however, they managed to make a funny skit--but a seriously flawed one where there is TONS of mugging and overacting.

Overall, a very good film that is light and simple entertainment. Just turn off your brain and enjoy.

Those who have seen The Eroticist know that Lucio Fulci can do comedy. In fact, he did comedy before he did horror. This is only the second of his comedy films released on DVD that I know of.

Italian comedies were very popular in the 70s, especially sex comedies, especially with Edwige Fenech, who also did one with Fulci: La Pretora.

This film is a collection of short skits, and there is surely a few that you will enjoy. Even if you don't find one funny, no fear, as it will not last too long, and there will be one that is hilarious coming soon.

We get to see the ever lovely Barbara Steele in an episode where the wife and the mistress are comparing notes and surmise that the husband is cheating on both of them with a third girl, or is he?