Dottor Jekyll e gentile signora

If you're a fan of BBC's Miranda or The Vicar of Dibley then there's a good chance you'll enjoy Dottor Jekyll e gentile signora, which also features an unattractive accident-prone lead character, the majority of the film's gags involving him falling over or hitting his head.

Paolo Villaggio plays the evil Dr. Jekyll, who is employed by multinational conglomerate PANTAC to maximise profit and power at the expense of pollution. When PANTAC's fertiliser FP-1 is banned due to unwarranted side effects, Jekyll comes up with the dastardly plan of using the chemical to produce chewing gum instead. He is aided in his task by his wicked secretary Barbara Wimply (played by voluptuous giallo babe Edwige Fenech), and a group of thugs led by the ruthless Pretorius (peplum star Gordon Mitchell).

However, after putting the wheels in motion, Jekyll encounters his famous grandfather who reveals the secret of his personality-altering concoction and its antidote. Believing that it will make him even more despicable, Jekyll drinks a glass of the formula, but turns into the effeminate, good-natured Mr. Hyde, who tries to sabotage Jekyll's scheme.

Consisting of pathetic slapstick, and un-PC jokes about Hyde's apparent gay persona, this lamentable Italian comedy will only appeal to fans of extremely unsophisticated humour, or admirers of Edwige Fenech, who is absolutely ravishing: not only does she get to vamp it up as sexy Babs, but she also downs Jekyll's formula and transforms into an angelic blonde (both shed their clothes, giving Fenech fans much to enjoy).

2/10 for Fenech. Without her, I would have found the film totally unbearable.

My main reason for seeing this farce was the fact that it stars the stunningly beautiful Edwige Fenech. Her presence is all well and good; but as a film in its own right, this leaves a lot to be desired. The title suggests that the film will take influence from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel; and it does. What we have here is a sort of sex comedy revolving around magic potions and split personalities. The plot focuses on Dr Jekyll; a man who finds his other side thanks to his grandfather, who mysteriously lives in a bed in his basement. However, instead of turning him evil; he turns into a camp blonde 'nice guy'. I really liked the randomness of this film; there's no real cohesion to the story and it really does make it clear that the film is going to do anything it wants. However, what it does generally isn't all that interesting, or funny, and I spent most of the duration feeling rather bored. The film also features what has to be one of the most irritating soundtracks ever written. Edwige Fenech is something of a disappointment too as she isn't given much opportunity to look sexy and it feels like a bit of a waste. The film rattles on for about ninety minutes and the ending doesn't offer up anything that really warrants seeing the film. Only hardcore Edwige Fenech fans need apply...and to be honest, you'd be better served seeing one of her Giallo's again.

If you watch this in Italian you'll get more from it. However, you should make sure you get hold of the full 107 minute version, if possible in Italian (there is a surprisingly high-quality DVD available) as the original voices add to the entertainment value. I first saw a massacred edit which made almost no sense, and should you only get a version of say 75-85 minutes you'll be very disappointed. What you see of Signora Fenech is less than you might perhaps like, but some of her more intimate clothing does come off from time to time, and even dressed she is still a beautiful woman. So just take the film as it comes and enjoy it.

If you think that a combination of Dr. Jekyll and Edwige Fenech is a sure indicator of something both naughty and messy, then prepare for utter disappointment.

Truth is that this film is not: (a) Horrific: Dr. Jekyll is a ludicrous and inadequate hairy dwarf; (b) Erotic: There is little/no nudity, and the sexiest thing Fenech does is to wear a pair of specs; (c) Funny. Unfortunately it thinks it is. Instead it is just risible; (d) Worth 10 minutes of your time.

The only value I extracted was interesting views of 1970s London, and a confirmation that the entire decade was a sartorial and cultural disaster. To be avoided at all costs .....

Paolo Villaggio shows us an interesting version of the famous literary history but in a more modern guise, with excellent results. The human evil shown to the nth power in the form of a ruthless businessman, a member of the management of a multinational could of scruples will be transformed into pure goodness by a mysterious concoction. The ending is far-sighted because in a world where everyone has become good, it is the only ones who remain bad who govern and hold economic and political power.