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.

From the little there is available to read about this film, I can't believe how vehemently it's condemned (obviously by people unfamiliar with star Paolo Villaggio's unique brand of comedy); he's been one of Italy's biggest comedians since the mid-1970s, particularly his seminal 9-film series revolving around hapless everyman Ugo Fantozzi made between 1975 and 1999. By the way, I saw the actor (who occasionally dabbled in writing and directing) in 2004 at the Excelsior Hotel in Venice - while I was attending the Film Festival there - as he mingled with the other guests on the terrace, still in his pyjamas!

Anyway, it's no surprise that the film bears little resemblance to the plot of Stevenson's original novella, and was, in fact, extremely topical in its satirical treatment of various social issues (industrialization leading to dehumanization and aggressive marketing competitiveness yielding nothing less than chemical warfare) close to the troubled Italian situation of the time - despite being set (and shot) in London! Still, the Italian title - which translates to DR. JEKYLL AND KIND LADY - misleadingly suggests that it will be taking a gender-bending spin on events in the vein of Hammer's DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE (1971), with Villaggio metamorphosing into the luscious Edwige Fenech...but, actually, the 'kind lady' is none other than the curly-haired and effeminate do-gooder into which the evil Dr. Jekyll (dwarfish and given a hairy look for maximum effect) is eventually transformed! Actually, the Jekyll here is only the grandson of the famous doctor (a photograph of Fredric March is lovingly displayed on his mantel-piece); the latter still lives, unbeknownst to the current owner, chained to his bed in the basement of the mansion!

As is to be expected, the film has an anything-goes attitude (with proposed candidates to act as promoter for the doctor's formula narrowed down to the Pope, the Queen and Sir Laurence Olivier!) and a surreal tone (a running gag lifted from the Fantozzi films but which never fails to crack me up - and would, therefore, probably go over the head of most foreign audiences - is the long list of derogatory titles which precede figures of authority); the finale, then, is pure wishful-thinking as everybody is eventually turned into the image of benevolence - but this produces an unfortunate side-effect in that the working class takes to picketing against their employers' just treatment of them!! Clearly the most disappointing aspect about the film is its sad waste of Fenech: despite appearing as Dr. Jekyll's voluptuous secretary (who falls for his alter-ego, but he's too saintly to reciprocate her affections - while the repulsive Jekyll can only hope to lust after her!), she has little to do and, worse, there's barely any nudity (especially since she, too, succumbs to the benign formula before long - turning into a blonde, with the equivalent curly hairdo, but saddled with a pronounced lisp)!

As one can see from this review, I quite enjoyed the film - thanks also to an Armando Trovajoli score that includes an infectious recurrent pop song - and generally found it more consistent than the episodic and usually patchy Fantozzi series; that, however, may be due to the fact that it's helmed by an expert in the field, having directed the films of many an Italian comedian - foremost among them the great Toto'...and the modest ** rating is merely a reflection (or admission, on my part) of its inherent low-brow nature and middling i.e. not exactly good overall quality.

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 .....