As Malícias do Amor

Imagine yourself back in the cold war-period of half a century ago. Add to it your liking of the dry, tongue-in-cheek English humor, a little slapstick, and 'Une ravissante idiote' will entertain you well.

Its story is about a Soviet spy circle in London, trying to steal a file with valuable military information from a vault. A paper file, to be precise, as personal computers do not exist back in 1964. Anthony Perkins is the spy circle's main tool to obtain it, Brigitte Bardot acting as his more than willing helper .... sorry folks, don't get any ideas: there is no nudity involved in this movie.

All in all, 'Une ravissante idiote' gives us a well-built, consistent story, and fine acting from everbody involved. Both Perkins and Bardot do well in this light comedy.

It needs to be said right off the bat that this is less than perfect, and while its faults are less prominent as the length draws on, they are the first facets of the picture to catch one's attention. Early exposition is rather inelegant, and I think the plot is genuinely more complicated than it needs to be; the extra layer of orchestration to the protagonist's mission makes the story a tad unwieldy. As if to emphasize the point, I read the premise for the film in a few different places and had a hard time making sense of what the contributor was trying to communicate, but it turns out it's not so much a problem with any user's literacy but a basic matter of trying to elucidate a needlessly overdone plot. Speaking of overdone, there's a lot of rather tawdry embellishment here at various points, be it footage that's sped up, cartoonish sound effects or music cues, exaggerated laughter (at least some instances of the latter being inserted in post-production), transitions or camerawork with an overly playful flourish, or a few gags that are absurd beyond the tone this otherwise carries itself with. This is a bit inconsistent generally where tone is concerned, adopting earnest, serious thriller airs at select times, significantly clashing with what is otherwise a frivolous, lighthearted romp. Setting aside the indelicacy of the outdated ableist language in the name of the feature, the character to whom that name refers is written a little inconsistently, too. And, dovetailing back into the construction of the narrative - even with all the cleverness that the movie can rightly claim through to the end, this feels longer than it is. Surely some of the writing could have been trimmed without meaningfully losing anything.

All this is the bad news, or at least those issues that place distinct upper limits on how enjoyable this might be. The good news is that more than not 'Une ravissante idiote,' also known as 'Agent 38-24-36,' is sufficiently smart and entertaining that its value well outweighs its disadvantages; it's imperfect, but ultimately I definitely like it. In fairness, those notable convolutions of the writing are intentional, somewhat spoofing spy flicks; that this goes a smidgen overboard, well, that's the risk of such material. Broadly speaking the story is fun and engaging, and sharp scene writing carries most of the weight not just in communicating that story but more importantly, in providing the comedy. There's no single stroke of brilliance here, and the end result is more lightly amusing than robustly funny, but still the sight gags, situational humor, and witty dialogue are more than suitable to give us a good time. The cast sure seem to be having a ball with the silliness of the scenario, not least Grégoire Aslan, Hélène Dieudonné, and chief star Anthony Perkins; given more license to ham it up on account of how Penelope is written, Brigitte Bardot stands out even more. Elsewhere, even if I disagree with the choices that were made or pointedly think they detract from the whole, everyone behind the scenes turned in good work. Édouard Molinaro deftly manages a film with so many moving parts in his direction; Andréas Winding's cinematography is more shrewd and mindful than not. The costume design, hair, makeup, and sets are pretty fantastic, and though more sparing in this instance, any stunts and effects come off well.

That 'Une ravissante idiote' is saddled with so many troubles is unfortunate, because they do serve to diminish the viewing experience in some measure. Be that as it may, it only wants its audience to have enjoy themselves, and though flawed, this is more than strong enough to achieve that goal. The plot could have been simplified a bit and impulses reined in, yet even as we see it the picture is a minor delight, and plentifully satisfying. I don't think there's any need to go out of your way for it, but if you do have the opportunity to watch, it's a decent way to spend a couple hours.

This is a bit of everything, a serious crime story about a dossier that needs to be stolen, a minor part of a love story between the hero and the heroine, a slight tad of crime, and a good amount of comedy.

Perkins speaking French, fluently, the only thing he's able to achieve in his role in this movie. Bardot with a fortunate role, fortunate, because she can do a bit more than just being a sexy puppet.

The cast is great, the script, however, lackadaisical. Some really funny scenes intertwined, like when police cars try to stop their car, with a cadaver on the back seat. The old lady lying on the carpet, with her feet erect, like in "The Trouble with Harry".

Unfortunately, some of the 'funny' scenes are unfunny. Like Perkins chased by an aspirator, very silly laughing of Bardot (played in from tape), and some more, like the 1920s slapstick with Perkins and the fight with dog and shoe. This is the problem of the script, though. They tried to put everything and anything into this movie.

When I watched it for a second time, I saw it much differently, since I knew the complete plot, including the ending. Bardot is pretty good at doing what her role is demanding from her in the light of the complete plot.

It was Tony Perkins 'second film with a French director :the first one was André Cayatte 's "le glaive et la balance"("two are guilty") , an unfairly trashed thriller;René Clément had previously directed him in 1958 ,but it was an American production in which he was dubbed for the French version;by 1964 ,his French had vastly improved ,he was fluent in Victor Hugo's language which he spoke with a very light accent .

With the exception of "the matchmaker' it was also his first comedy : although anodyne ,it was certainly an act of self-renewal ,although the ghost of Norman Bates would follow him till his last breath (his last role " a demon in my view" is revealing)

In the comedy field ,against all odds, Perkins reveals himself a very gifted actor ,and his perfect command of French helps .His pairing with France 's most famous sex symbol of all time proved successfull. BB was peerless when it came to playing naive bimbos, (apparently) dumb bubblehead girls (see also " Babette S'En Va-t-En Guerre" ,"Viva Maria" ) It's sometimes useful to pass for a ravishing idiot,particularly when your car carries a Russian spy dead body and you are subject to egregious gaffes.

The screenplay is a spy thriller spoof ,with a far-fetched plot-though a warning reads :" this is based on a true story" ,before the cast and credits - ,it's sometimes hard to decipher the cock and bull screenplay (and the way BB sees it is riotously funny. As for Perkins,he is overtaken by events all the time ) .But I dare you to guess the final unexpected twist of this "avalanche project affair".

Another stand-out is Helene Dieudonné's mamie, a granny who never loses her British upper lip -although ,like her granddaughter ,she's not British at all- even when her life is at stake !

Arguably the worst Tony Perkins' film that he did prior to the 1980s, this "comedy" in which he plays a bumbling spy trying to retrieve a file for the Russians concerning NATO military tactics, with the help of Bardot, is neither funny nor interesting. Don't bother with it.