Mon Dieu, comment suis-je tombée si bas...

Unless you are easily distracted by Laura Antonelli, I wouldn't say that there is anything particularly noteworthy about this weak Italian comedy. There were a few funny moments, but more often than not, the jokes were misfires. It didn't take all that long for me to start watching the clock with regularity during this film, so I would have to say that it is fairly dull as well. Learn from my mistake, and don't waste your time watching this forgettable film.

Laura Antonelli brings whole new dimensions to the word "luscious" in this movie. She makes the seemingly stock character of the barely-reluctant virgin come alive in her scenes with Placido, thanks to her big eyes and adorably trembling lower lip. And then there's that body...

In addition, "Marriage" has a lot of wry commentary on Italy of the early 1900s. The upper class were a ragingly nationalist bunch not unlike some sectors of the U.S. populace today. (It helps the enjoyment of the film if one knows who Gabriele d'Annunzio was.) A conscript's baleful response to a officer's 'fire them up' speech is the funniest line of the film, one I haven't forgotten.

I saw this in a little independent theatre, and went back for a second helping. If you can find this one on video, rent it!

Brilliant cast and unpredictable comedy - Seductive story line - Antonelli is at her best! - Michele Placido steals the show. An amazing story line that tells the secrets of two generations aristocratic and very eccentric family. The comedy is hysterical and very unamerican. Deals with human nature and the various sexual taboos that most american films would never dare touch. A young naive woman who has been raised by nuns in an orphanage realizes, on her wedding night, that she has married her long lost brother. Rather than create a huge scandal and lose the family inheritance they decide to keep the secret to themselves. The way the end being brother and sister is told through a wonderful flashback sequence. They cover up their secret by publicly taking a religious vow of chastity as a married couple. The young wife however although prude and conservative becomes very frustrated. Michele Placido plays the Chauffer that attempts to seduce her. A definite must see.

This film is a genuinely funny farce of conservative Italian morality. The cycle of absurd events in the film is pretty ingenious and I can see this type of writing as inspirational to writers like Woody Allen and Roberto Begnini. Above all, Luigi Comencici's direction is superb. Even if you don't laugh out loud, you should be able to appreciate his masterful comedic directing style. The lead actress Laura Antonelli is a grade-A fox, so watch it for that at least.

Luigi Comencini made a couple of mildly entertaining films: La boheme with Barbara Hendricks and L'ingorgo. Mostly the tone is bitter-sweet, the colour scheme soft, somewhat washed out and the dramatic level is low. So it is here, with Laura Antonelli (her body could revive a dead man, I sometimes think) and Alberto Lionello playing this silly charade of brother and sister. Michele Placido has some fun playing the chauffeur--and how long does it take him to get her out of her clothes so they can have sex? The plot twists and turns would take too long to recount, and I don't want to use spoilers anyway. The scenes with Karin Schubert and the ladies who obsess over D'Annunzio are really tiresome and should have been deleted.