La chance d'être femme

In the world of film 'It' plus 'It' equals 'Chemistry' and that between Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni was palpable in their first outing 'Too bad she's bad' directed by Alessandro Blasetti. Here they are in their third film together and Blasetti again directs. La Loren is still very much capitalising on her pneumatic physique and sexual charisma but of course one has to play the game with the cards one is dealt! Both she and Mastroianni show even greater assurance in their scenes together which augurs well for the future. There is the added bonus of the consummate Charles Boyer as a Lothario who likes to dine 'a la carte' as it were, despite having a delicious set menu at home in the person of Elisa Cegani as his wife. She comes into her own in a priceless scene towards the end. The film is well paced, looks marvellous and the script by D'Amico and Flaiano sparkles. Alessandro Cicognini is again on hand with a typically breezy score. Great to see Boyer in action although he has not alas been 'dubbed' very well. Especially good to see the Loren/Mastroianni partnership go from strength to strength with of course their greatest films to come.