Fantômes à l'italienne

I recently saw this film on Turner Classic Movies. I was surprised to see that even though 37 years have passed, the film still is humorous. I have to admit, the idea is quite far fetched, but Sophia Loren and Vittorio Gassman do a fine job as the happy, (unhappy) couple. One comment stated that this is an "unfunny" comedy. This is the type of film where one must separate themselves from reality. Remember that this is a movie: made with the sole purpose of entertaining the viewer. Ponti, (Sophia's husband) made some excellent, but sadly forgotten little gems, that hopefully will be brought to wider attention in years to follow. This is a good film to see as a double feature, with (1972) "Lady Liberty", a sort of forgotten Sophia Loren film. I am surprised that MGM/UA has not released this film in a letter-boxed format on DVD. Watch for a quick cameo by Marcello Mastroanni.

Sofia Loren and Vittorio Gassman do a good job acting this movie. The roles are intentionally silly but they are able to keep them from going overboard until the end of the movie, when everything falls apart. In other films, it seems sometimes that Vittorio Gassman is too aware of the camera, but not here. He allows his character to go wild, but I never felt that it was too much, until the end.

The direction is pretty good, until the end. There were some good funny scenes and everything seemed to flow well.

The writing was also pretty good, until the end when I wasn't sure what was going on. Even at the end there were some good scenes and some good jokes, it's a shame that everyone allowed the story to fall apart. This also had the negative effect of losing the thread of all of the tenants, the neighbor, and even the main story regarding the apartment. I would have liked to have had some closure on these stories.

I laughed a number of times during this movie, but they lost me after a while, and on top of that, what ever happened to the ghosts? Why were they given the apartment? It would have been better, and would have made more sense, if there had been ghosts. Without them, the whole premise of them getting the apartment for free was lost.

Watch this movie only if you want to see Sofia Loren at the height of her beauty and you would be happy watching her in front of a brick wall for 1 hour and 32 minutes.

Some spotty editing is no help in trying to follow the plot twists that get more and more involved after a good start, with Vittorio Gassman and Sophia Loren moving into a castle that Gassman thinks is haunted by a wealthy nobleman. Actually, it's Loren's lover who is hiding out to be near her and this set-up is the start of a screwball comedy.

Most enjoyable aspect of the film are the performances by Vittorio Gassman and Mario Adorf who garner a lot of laughs out of what seems an impossible situation. Loren merely lends her rather somber presence to the comedy in a straight role that doesn't require comic skill.

The situations are played for laughs but the story convolutions become a bit hard to swallow once the film gets past mid-length and there are too many anti-climactic moments as one gag after another is offered in rather fitful fashion, including an especially silly one for the ending that involves Marcello Mastroianni.

There's a blank time lapse toward the end that seems to indicate a bad case of editing. The story suddenly lurches forward as if omitting details of what happened in between or as though scenes were left on the cutting room floor. Despite this flaw, it manages to be funny thanks to the artful performances of the male leads.

This is the kind of film that local TV stations used to program on Sunday afternoons: unfunny 60's comedies no one had ever heard of. The confused plot reads like one from a screwball comedy, but the necessary energy to pull it off are missing. Instead, there just a lot of poorly paced talking and ranting.

Totally sucking the life out of the film is the odd re-dubbing of every sound effect and line of dialog. Since everyone's mouths seem to match English perfectly, you have to wonder what the purpose of this was. Since everyone constantly sounds four inches from the microphone, whether they're running down the stairs or whispering across an alley, the film has a strange antiseptic quality, devoid of any room noise or natural ambiance. Sophia fans should simply watch her and mute the sound.

Pasquale Lojacono (Vittorio Gassman) and his wife Maria (Sophia Loren) are working poor. Pasquale spots a mansion for rent with "unusual advantages". It comes rent free... but with ghosts. Maria does have an obsessed admirer in Alfredo Mariano (Mario Adorf) who Pasquale mistakes for a ghost.

This is a bit of a cash grab with Sophia Loren's rising stardom. It's a screwball comedy with a fun oddball premise. I like the premise. It doesn't get much funnier as the story keeps going. It's mildly funny. The dubbing probably takes some of the humor out of this. It screws up the tone and the comedic timing.