De Pernas pro Ar

In Rio de Janeiro, the upper middle-class couple João Luiz Segretto (Bruno Garcia) and Alice Segretto (Ingrid Guimarães) lives a perfect life in a comfortable apartment in Barra da Tijuca with their son Paulinho. Alice is a workaholic businesswoman that works in the marketing department of Happy Toys and her boss Carlos has just indicated her to the managing position. However, he advises her that this job position demands twelve working hours per day; eight business trip per month; and has destroyed the marriage of three out of the four last managers. Alice accepts the challenge and when she arrives home, she does not find João but his message in the answering machine telling that he wants to take a break in their marriage for reassessment.

Alice tells her mother Marion (Denise Weinberg) the decision of João; on the next morning, Marion calls her daughter and tells that João is in the flat 1302 of the Barra Luna Condo and Alice heads with the package she has just receive in the reception of her building to the flat. She overhears a woman coming and whispering the name "João" and when the stranger opens the door, she sees the gorgeous and sexy blonde Danielle Santucci (Flávia Alessandra). The upset Alice goes to the boarding meeting totally unstable and when she opens the package, there are sex toys instead of the "Happy Little Earthworm" toy that she expects to show to clients and directors. Alice is immediately fired and when she returns to her building, she finds that the package belongs to her funky neighbor Marcela (Maria Paula) that owns the sex-shop Sex Delícia. They befriend each other and Marcela invites the uptight Alice to work with her. Alice uses her knowledge of marketing and expands the business and makes it profitable. But when João returns home, she does not have enough courage to tell him that she is working in sex-shop business.

"De Pernas para o Ar" is a successful Brazilian comedy that entertains and makes the viewer laugh a lot. I found this film underrated in IMDb, probably bitter or intellectual people have voted and lowered the rating. Of course this is not a film to be awarded in festivals but the popular humor works perfectly and I would like to ask what else could I expect from a comedy than make me laugh? Ingrid Guimarães (that in my opinion physically resembles Sarah Jessica Parker), the still very sexy quadragenarian Maria Paula and the excellent Denise Weinberg are simply hilarious and their characters show great chemistry. I was lured by the conclusion that was apparently corny and conservative, but with the last scene of "back-up cell phone", the director changed to a witty and very funny conclusion, compatible with the behavior of the profile of Alice. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "De Pernas para o Ar" ("Head over Heels")

Now, when I sat down in 2022 to watch the 2010 comedy "De Pernas pro Ar" (aka "Head Over Heels") from writers Paulo Cursino and Marcelo Saback, all I knew about the movie was that it was a Brazilean comedy. So director Roberto Santucci had every opportunity to bedazzle, impress and entertain me with this movie.

Well, I have to say that I, as a male viewer in my mid-40s, was not particularly the right target audience for a movie such as "De Pernas pro Ar". This movie was sort of aiming at a female audience that were perhaps also the same audience that enjoyed the "Sex and the City" series and movies. So the movie fell rather short of providing me with a proper sense of entertainment.

The storyline just fell on dry land with me, and thus it was not a movie that I particularly enjoyed, nor is it a movie that I have any intention of watching the sequels for that I noticed were available. There was some comedy in the movie as well, but it was tied too much to the contents of the storyline, and thus didn't really appeal to me or my particular sense of humor.

It should be said, though, that the acting performances in the movie were good. I didn't know a single actress or actor here, as I am by no means familiar with the Brazil cinema. Good performances in general in this movie.

Furthermore, I will say that while "De Pernas pro Ar" didn't entertain me, this is by no means a bad movie. The movie is well-acted, well-produced, well-directed, etc., so there is something to be had here for the target audience, of that I am quite sure.

My rating of "De Pernas pro Ar" lands on a four out of ten stars. And that is based solely on the fact that the movie didn't fall into my taste or liking.