Sunburn, bruciata dal sole

In 1979's strangely toned "Sunburn" insurance investigator Charles Grodin hires Farrah Fawcett to pose as his wife while he probes a dodgy death in Acapulco. There they're drawn into a bland plot involving blackmail & the mob with the likes of Joan Collins, Art Carney & Seymour Cassel. Director Richard C Sarafian and writers John Daly, Stephen Oliver & James Booth may have thought they had the best of both the mystery thriller & jaunty rom-com genres - but ended up falling between the two as neither funny nor tense: just pretty lame & pointless. What it DOES having going for it in retrospect though is its nostalgic Seventies feel - but that's not enough. Disappointing fare.

Despite being labeled as a comedy, "Sunburn" really isn't one - its aim seems to be a light-hearted mystery. But there really isn't much mystery in this movie - much of the footage is more or less padding. I started to grow impatient as the movie progressed. I didn't find any of the going-ons amusing in any way. Also, there is some very bad editing that really sticks out like a sore thumb.

I was prepared to hate F.F.'s performance, but I was surprised. She isn't great, but her acting is a lot better than you'd think. And it's nice that her character isn't the expected bubblehead, but someone with average intelligence, and isn't a screaming wimp. However, the romantic pairing of F.F. and C.G. is one of the strangest and most unlikely pairings in motion picture history!

This is one of my all time favorites. For pure entertainment value. I usually go for much more thought provoking films, but this one was fun. I saw it originally on cable many years ago. I still hear the 10cc song "I don't want to lose you. Dadda dadda da dah" and think of putting lotion on Farrah's back side while she lies with that bed sheet seductively covering her!(Which was much more enticing than actually seeing a nude scene.) With the dry comedy of Grodin, and his way of making you believe it could be you and the always likeable Art Carney I just wish I could've been there in Mexico with them. I almost became a Insurance Investigator! I wish I could find this on video. Stranded on an island, this would be one of my 5 films to keep.

I remember being very upset when Farrah left TV and started making movies. It was before VCRS and DVDS so once she was gone there was no way to see her every week. The movies that she made once she left didn't help with getting your Farrah fix. She still looked beautiful, but they didn't capture her personality the way her TV show was able to. This is a starring role for Farrah Fawcett (her second film after leaving Charlie's Angels) but it is Joan Collins who turns out to be the sexier of the two and who steals the film despite her small role. Charles Grodin is seriously miscast and makes the film hard to watch. Luckily the scenery is beautiful and so are the two women. This was the movie that made me realize how sexy Joan Collins really is. Watch her vamp it up in her Pre-Dynasty days.

After capturing the hearts and minds of most teen boys in America, Farrah Fawcett branched out into posters and films. Leaving behind "Charlie's Angels" and fame and fortune, Farrah embarked on her "S" trilogy. The middle installment in the trilogy was aptly titled "Sunburn"(the other two movies were called "Somebody Killed Her Husband" and "Saturn 3") and involved Miss Farrah's teaming with Charles Grodin and their ability to portray themselves as husband and wife. The reason for the elaborate ruse is to clean up a phony suicide claim. Insurance fraud has never seemed more exciting as it does here, where you can walk outside into the streets of Acapulco or slip into a million dollar chateau for a cocktail party. Speaking of posters this film has one of the best: Farrah in a one-piece that defies gravity, Grodin with a sidearm and Art Carney parachuting in on a pair of sunglasses with the ocean in the background. Oh, well, maybe you should purchase the poster instead. But if you don't wish to watch three straight Farrah Fawcett films on a summer' afternoon, pair this one up with the Mexican-set, Neo-Noir classic, "Against All Odds."