The Gentle Rain

There's a scene where Lynda Day asks Chris George why he can't speak. He "charades" it to her, i.e., he acts it out with his hands and face. Halfway through it, I couldn't help thinking of similar scenes in Marx Brothers movies! I was expecting it to conclude with Day saying, "And that's how you became Harpo Marx!"

I'm a fan of Lynda Day's from her Mission:Impossible years. I was curious to see her in something else. She does very well here with a fairly silly script. Her motivation seems plausible enough.

The problem, as others have said, is that it's hard to buy Chris George as an emotional cripple. He comes across as too macho, too strong for the part. Other than his lack of speech, there are no signs of weakness of any kind.

Judy Reynolds (Lynda Day George) is a teenage runaway from New York City. She goes to Rio de Janeiro to find her absent passion. She falls for architect Bill Patterson (Christopher George). He has been mute since the tragic death of his beloved girlfriend.

It is nice to see Rio of the 60's. It is also nice to know that these two got married although she was already married during this film. They seem to have known each other for quite awhile. As for the film, it is a slow-moving romance. His mutism doesn't help to speed anything along. For a long time, it is her voice only and half silent. That is rather dull.

Linda Day has just had her marriage annulled. She flies down to Rio De Janeiro and hides out in the American community. She meets Christopher George, an architect rendered mute by a car accident which killed his fiancee. Now he makes a living as a draftsman. They begin an affair.

It's supposed to be a sensitive love story about two injured people. For me, it's a story about two self-indulgent individuals who fall into an easy relationship and think it's love. Miss Day never consummated her marriage, and has fled to a place she doesn't speak the language on her parents' money. George seems to live pretty well on a draftsman salary, and his mutism prevents him from having to discuss what's bothering him. It also prevents him from giving an interesting performance. These two physically beautiful people amid the location shooting on Sugarloaf and by Iguacu Falls lends the movie a great deal of interest, but at 110 minutes, there's little to admire in the characters.

Ridiculous storyline. Even story/ plot missing since director didn't even pretend interested enough to hire writer who bothered with any believable dialogue-total tripe. Performances by two leads were done as if both were already dead-zero interest in making any effort. Both walked thru production making no effort to act. Both Georges played their roles like corpses. Moved like steel rods up their backsides. Even Lynda George attempt at dancing was wooden. Neither seemed interested in communicating in any way with each other. This is a complete waste of everyone's time. Don't give this trash any of your time. Actors, writer and director should have been required to pay the producer for wasting everyone's time.

Prim young miss from New York arrives in Rio de Janeiro, ostensibly to escape her wealthy, overpowering parents, yet there's something else going on with her: she's bristles with tension every time a man comes near her. This frigid Gidget meets her match in a brooding American architect-turned-draftsman still grieving the car-related death of his fiancée. Seems he's a somewhat-elective mute hiding out from civilization (with his telephone hidden in a desk drawer!) and communicates with the girl using "his eyes and his hands". Despite the boastful credit that the film was produced entirely in Brazil, all we really get of Rio are Viewmaster-like shots of the landmarks, a pretty waterfall and rainbow combination, also some beaches crowded with overly-tanned bodies. Glossy-lipped, strawberry-blonde Lynda Day (who looks a bit like Joey Heatherton) is obviously not a skilled dramatic actress, but she's passable here; she manages well with some inane dialogue including a silly, lengthy monologue about why her recently-annulled marriage was never consummated. Christopher George (a ringer for Paul Burke, and later Day's real-life husband) has a more intricate problem: he's terribly miscast as a sensitive outcast, turning silent anguish and conflicted emotions into constipation. A highlight of their affair is a playful scene where he pulls Day into the bathtub with him--there's also a good dramatic moment at a party where he longs to sing with the guests--but George is too granite-solid and "macho" for a tortured role like this. The music by Luiz Bonfa and Eumir Deodato is pretty, if repetitive, and the pacing is quick enough. Still, only die-hard romanticists will fall for this sudsy plot--and even they should balk at the ending, which is terribly unfair to the audience. ** from ****