Une ravissante idiote

"Une Ravissante Idiote" is the third comedy directed by Edouard Molinaro, who first directed shorts, then excellent Films Noirs. And for this comedy, Molinaro gets a great cast with Bardot and Perkins, it must have been a new experience, also shooting some scenes in London. Bardot and Perkins is nice couple, they work well together. But the script is not enough well written, some scenes are poor and some are brilliant, thanks to the speedy way of shooting by Molinaro, mostly in the slapstick scenes. It's a fine comedy, but should have been much better.

Looking for a comedy to improve my mood, I came across a gem of the genre - 'Une ravissante idiote', the 1964 film by Édouard Molinaro. Many of the French comedies of that period are among my favorites, and now I am adding one more. 40 years before the films of the 'Legally Blonde' series, Édouard Molinaro offers us a parody of spy films with a blonde that gathers in her all the stereotypes of jokes about blondes and adds a few more. If this movie were made today, pretty much everything would work perfectly, except maybe the original title that wouldn't pass the filters of political correctness. But then, in 1964, the role of the blonde was played by Brigitte Bardot.

The story takes place at a time when the cold war was in full swing and spies were prowling the streets of London, where the action happens. Harry Compton is a freshly fired bank clerk who is head over heels in love with the beautiful Penelope "Penny" Lightfeather. However, Harry is also the son of a couple of Soviet spies, and when he expresses his desire to emigrate to the Land of the Soviets, he is entrusted with a special mission - the theft of NATO naval plans in the event of a war. Back then such secrets were kept in real paper files with the code name of the plans on the cover! Penny also turns out to be a communist with a party card and as a seamstress she is well placed to break into the house of the high-ranking officer who keeps the plans in the safe box in his working room. The two lovers will soon have on their trail the agents and killers of the Soviet intelligence services, the police and agents of several British counterintelligence services. Their incompetence as amateurs and lovers will prove a formidable weapon. Their only weapon.

I liked the movie. The script emphasizes the comic scenes and highlights the two protagonists. Brigitte Bardot - BB - is in fantastic form, and Anthony Perkins demonstrates the nice guy qualities that made him one of the highest-rated film actors on the international stage at the time. The pairing of the two works well on screen - both comically and romantically. Around them swarm a lot of characters played by lesser-known actors, but all of them well chosen. Édouard Molinaro films with inventivity, playing with the camera, occasionally inserting freeze-frames or speed-ups. Everything at the right time and in good taste. The movie gave viewers of yesterday and today almost two hours of quality blonde entertainment.

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.

I bought Une Ravissante Idiote to get a chance to see Anthony Perkins speak French - while his accent sounds fairly Anglo-American, it's not too noticeable. Perkins is Harry Compton, a spy set out on a mission to steal some confidential papers from Sir Reginald Dumfrey. Harry's in love with Penelope Lightfeather, whom is coincidentally the seamstress for Dumfrey's wife. Penelope is the inspiration for the title The Ravishing Idiot, as she is not exactly bright. At all.

Brigitte Bardot does a good job as Penelope, as she perfectly captures her aloofness and naiveté. However, she has this terribly strange laugh. That aside it's plain to see why Harry Compton is simply head over heels for Penelope, she's gorgeous and sweet - despite her lack of intelligence. He thinks to himself "She is an idiot, but you love her. You always wanted an English family. She is not English..."

The humor in this film is odd, and just plain silly. But Anthony Perkins is absolutely delightful and charismatic, and the situations in this film are interesting. A nice film to see if you are fans of Bardot and Perkins who work well together (albeit not getting along off-screen), but otherwise I'm reluctant to recommend it to the latter.

A charming espionage story, Anthony Perkins and Brigitte Bardot, Gregoire Aslan and Helene Dieudonne and the breeze of Cold War. Difficult to understand the nuances for the new generations but , in french recipe for comedy rules, a great chain of confusions, short tension moments, masks and apparences, naivety and some fights.

A good slice from a lost world and the irony as tool against pressure of politic.