Il più grande amatore del mondo

I personally thought the film was too long, and had too many belabored or slowly timed gags. They needed to be more crisply and unselfconsciously performed to work.

The Abalone character was great, and his give and take with people was one of the better points. Still, to have the A-Baloney bit pounded into the ground didn't improve the humor. Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing.

Same is true for the 'sex by numbers' bit. Clever, but needed tightening up.

This said, I'm usually a big fan of Wilder's work. This one just fell a bit flat for me.

Rainbow Studio is falling behind rival Paramount with their matinée star Rudolph Valentino. Studio head Adolph Zitz (Dom DeLuise) intends to find the next sex symbol for his movie "The World's Greatest Lover". He is surrounded by Yes men and gets violent whenever somebody disagrees. Rudy Hickman (Gene Wilder) from Milwaukee is filled with neuroses. When he gets nervous, he does one of three things. He either sticks out his tongue, gets hysterical laryngitis or mixes up his words. He gets fired again and decides to go to Hollywood with his innocent new wife Annie (Carol Kane) to win that Greatest Lover contest. Annie is tired of living with Rudy and leaves him in search for Rudolph Valentino.

There is one hilarious scene with Sex by the Numbers. It gets me every time. It's a great bit but the rest of the movie isn't that funny. Rudy Hickman is not a likable guy. The main problem is that he's so dismissive to his wife Annie. That is a real problem for him being the World's Greatest Lover. It's also tough to laugh with the guy.

Interesting that 20th Century Fox gave Gene Wilder a second chance to develop his talents as a writer-director-star (and producer AND songwriter this time) after "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" left most critics indifferent. "Brother" wasn't terrible, and it reportedly grossed twenty million dollars, but as comic movie-making it was a botch (it had too much manic energy for one picture). Here, Wilder plays a Milwaukee schnook who travels to Los Angeles in the 1920's with his new bride to audition for Rainbow Pictures' answer to Rudolph Valentino. Wilder doesn't float gags around, he hammers away at them without much subtlety or finesse; he loves a good burlesque gag and he's fond of old-fashioned slapstick, but he needs more soft edges (the best scenes are the ones featuring Carol Kane, who is handled gingerly playing the wife). Lots of running jokes (bad ones, like Gene's character being named Rudy Valentine, that simply don't pay off), and too much of Dom DeLuise, bring the picture down. There are some laughs: Gene making eyes at a plain Jane on the train, an overflowing bathtub in a posh hotel. Wilder certainly has lots of ideas, but the results are more miss than hit. ** from ****

This movie studies a handful of themes, among them: romantic problems, issues of the individual versus conformity, and beauty versus mediocrity. It is set during the Hollywood silent movie days, when Rudolph Valentino was the rage. Wilder plays the lead role, the husband of a Valentino fan, who has to muster up the sexy man in himself in order to save the day. The sets are lush, Carol Kane is gorgeous, Wilder gives one of his most heartbreaking performances, and Harry Nilsson devotes his song "Ain't it kind of wonderful" to the soundtrack. Very ambitious, especially considering that Wilder wrote, directed and produced it.

Yes, it's true some of the gags are dated or overdone, but there are other things to enjoy. It's in the same league as Woody Allen's early slapstick comedies, like "Sleeper" and "Play it again, Sam", as well as the Mel Brooks' oeuvre.

This production was built around the search for the next Rudolph Valentino. While this work has become dated, it was filmed as a pseudo-retrospective at the time, so it was already "dated" the day it was filmed.

This is a total Gene Wilder vehicle. He wrote the screenplay, directed the movie, and was the movie's sole credited producer. He is also THE star of the movie. He does share the limelight with Carol Kane (a pure delight, as usual), but this was one of Wilder's brightest moments. By this time, the world realized they had a comedic genius on their hands and after this work Wilder pretty much had the Midas Touch for a while.

Kane plays Annie Hickman, the world's greatest Valentino fan. Wilder portrays a Milwaukean baker who is at the end of his rope. His idiosyncrasies are so severe, he finds it impossible to maintain employment. Upon learning of a contest held by Rainbow Studios (NOT the #1 studio) to find the next Rudolph Valentino, Rudy Hickman just "knows" this is his ticket to a better life. His wife leaves him to go find Mr. Valentino. But once Hickman is in the middle of it all, he realizes his wife is what is most important to him and he sets the works in motion to woo her away from Rudolph Valentino. The formula makes for some of the best heart-warming entertainment that's hit the big screen. It's endearing and funny in its bittersweet malaise.

It also goes a long way towards showing what CAN be done with no effects and no locations beyond the Studio Backlot and a few, cheap but decent sets.

While it is frayed about the edges, this classic favorite is one ripe for a DVD restoration...perhaps even a 2-disk director's cut for those of us fans who have BEEN fans since the beginning.

It rates an 8.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.