Director Silvio Amadio, who made the interesting AMUCK (a.k.a. ALLA RICERA DEL PIACERE, 1971), concocted this similarly twisted melodrama. Although considerably less thrilling than AMUCK, SO YOUNG SO LOVELY SO VICIOUS offers mild frissons in its tale of a dangerously manipulative teenager who attempts to emotionally destroy her potential stepmother.
The teenager is Angela (Gloria Guida), a bored rich kid with a large chip on her shoulder. One day her daddy brings home bride-to-be Irene (Dagmar Lassander) and it is spite at first sight, as pouty brat Angela does everything she can think of to drive Irene away.
First, Angela enlists a boyfriend, Sandro, whose attempts to romance Irene in full view of the father do not work. Angela elects to spend time alone with Irene, and they form an uneasy alliance when the father goes off on a business trip.
Amadio has very little to work with in his script (which he co-wrote with Roberto Natale), although it is ironic that Irene is presented as a fairly mature, stoic character who is so gullible and easily undone by Angela.
In lieu of a gripping scenario, he makes maximum use of the lead actresses' beauty and a scenic, rocky Mediterranean coastline. Guida, in one of her first roles, looks stunning. However, she is not skilled enough to pull off some scenes, such as when Angela suffers a distressing attack of remorse after practically destroying Irene's life. Dagmar Lassander, though, is a far more accomplished actress, looks great, and adds a bit of depth to Irene. This despite Amadio's habit of subjecting her to a couple of truly embarrassing scenes (for example, the awkward lesbian encounter with Guida; and an over-directed scene in which Irene reacts to learning, finally, that Angela is out to get her).
