La poliziotta a New York

The Italians invented the theatrical lowbrow slapstick that became a staple of 20th century film. Their brand is more juvenile and extreme, but they also bring their advanced culture and customs to it. That makes a film like "Policewoman" a mixed bag. Its cheap and cynical as any grindhouse film you can find, but it has gorgeous art direction and solid filmmaking. The script is kinda weak, full of lame gags and Italian humor is probably lost in translation. There's a lot of racial humor that comes off mean and the physical humor never becomes sophisticated beyond fart jokes and falling down. But this is a watchable mess. Its a good education on 80s Italian film culture and it has its redeeming moments. Edwige Fenech is a bonafide star and she's enough of a draw for most men.

As bad as it is, you can do worse. And it fits in the genre with Troma and bad 80s Porky's ripoffs, so there's definitely an audience for this still.

I've seen all of Edwige Fenech's "schoolteacher" sex comedies (hanging head in shame), but this my first of her "policewoman" sex comedies. She and her diminutive partner (Alvaro Vitali) happen to be the spitting image of, respectively, the mistress and bodyguard of a New York mafioso (Alberto Lionello). So with the help of a Texan FBI agent played by Renzo Montagnini (I do hope the Italians know that Texas and New York City are very different places)they conspire to replace their respective dopplegangers and infiltrate the criminal organization, where they quickly find themselves in the middle of an inept gang war between the mafioso and his severely stuttering Turkish rival.

Fenech had been in a lot movies by this time, and although she had gotten much better as an actress (she deftly manges two distinct characters here) she also regrettably stopped taking off her clothes nearly as much, so it's kind of a double-edged sword. Vitali generally ranged from kinda funny to pretty irritating, and here he's somewhere in between. The idea of him being a vicious mafioso is funny in itself though. Even dubbed, the swarthy Montagnini does not make the most believable "Texan". The two rival gangsters are pretty good, however. And, of course, being Italian, the movie has the usual quota of offensive stereotypes, but they somehow here manage to actually combine the gay and black stereotypes as both Fenech and Vitali are pursued by Africa-American admirers of the same sex.

Director Michele Massimo Tarantini generally wasn't fit to carry the jockstrap of Sergio Martino, Fenech's regular collaborator. This might be one of his better films though. Strangely, soon after this Tarantini ended up in Brazil directing women-in-prison and cannibal films with Brazilian sex star/race car driver Susan Carvahlo. This isn't great, but you could do worse I suppose.

A POLICEWOMAN IN NEW YORK is the final instalment of the Edwige Fenech comedy trilogy, directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini and featuring stock location filming in the Big Apple. Here, Pupa and her comedy sidekick are assigned to a mission in America where they happen to be the exact doubles of a couple of figures in the Italian underworld, so they decide to masquerade as them. An extremely unfunny and grating comedy subsequently plays out, and to call many of the characters irritating would be an understatement. Fenech has visibly aged since her glory days although she still has a real glamour about her, although there's just one brief nude scene. The rest, from the stuttering Turk to the sassy black housemaid, is just plain bad.

And you thought Angie Dickinson's "Pepper" Anderson was a good-looking policewoman? Check out what Eurobabe Edwige Fenech brings to the table, in 1981's sexy Italian farce "A Policewoman in New York"! Edwige's fans will be happy to learn that she plays not one but two luscious roles in this picture: Gianna Amicucci, a uniformed policewoman in Rome, AND her spitting image, Pupa, the mistress of a mobster in NYC. Gianna and her doofus sidekick are tasked by the F.B.I. to infiltrate this criminal gang and get the goods on them, so it's off to the Big Apple for the two, in this, the last of the "Policewoman" series. Anyway, this is the type of film that will do anything for a laff, even if it means trotting out fart and urination humor, and nothing seems to be sacred here. Thus, there are jokes at the expense of gays, blacks, Arabs, American Indians and stutterers, and much use of cartoon slapstick. (Indeed, I could almost feel the ghosts of Moe, Larry and Curly smiling down in complete approbation!) Fortunately, the picture IS often quite funny. And our Edwige? More than just a gorgeous face, as her fans know, the gal can really act, and in these farces often proves herself to be a wickedly funny comedienne. This film also gives her a chance to look great while engaging in fisticuffs in an out-of-control airplane, while driving in a high-speed car chase through a rock quarry, and, well, in just about every scene she's in. Edwige buffs may be disappointed to learn that she doesn't appear IN the buff in this film (there's only one brief topless moment), but her sexy, lively and amusing character nonetheless makes the film something truly special. And the sight of Ms. Fenech and a big black mammy type singlehandedly mopping the floor with a rival gang is one you won't soon forget! All in all, a silly movie, but still, sexy fun.

Not only is that guy out of shape, this movie is seriously out of shape.

Now, I love Edwige Fenech , and she certainly shows an increasing acting ability her - she plays two parts - but that is not enough to recommend a film that really goes over the edge with slapstick. I thought at times I was watching the Three Stooges. With the silly Texan, and the stuttering Turk, it was very painful.

Stereotypes of blacks and gays didn't make it any better.

I won't be looking for any more in the policewoman series. I may even skip the schoolteacher series. Just bring me more Giallo. That's where Fenech really shines.