THE SWEET LIFE is the story of two 'chalk and cheese' brothers. Michael (Lorinz), the self-doubting and self- disparagingly droll magazine editor ("The last woman I dated told me she wasn't ready for a physical relationship. And this was after we'd had sex."), and Frankie (Mobley), his twice divorced, womanising, carousing and gambling cad of an older brother, who is currently dating Lila (Sicuranza), a tattooed, tough and sexy foul-mouthed, arm-wrestling bartender and the kind of woman Frankie feels the 'too nice' Michael could never handle. Michael agrees. "You're right, I'd be afraid that if I entered her body, it might take hostage negotiations to get back out." Introduced to Lila, who, like many women to his chagrin, just assumed he was gay, Michael is set up with Lila's roommate Sherry (a terrific Jett) and after a date which involves a hair-raising trip across town on the back of Sherry's Harley and almost being beaten to a pulp in a biker bar, he ends up handcuffed to the bedposts in Lila and Sherry's apartment with the drunken Sherry unconscious on top of him.
He is eventually rescued by a tearful Lila who tells him that she and Frankie have split up. They spend the night walking and talking. The surprisingly sensitive Lila has a dream of becoming a massage therapist and Michael encourages her to go for it. The relationship develops and Michael pushes her to enrol in a massage therapy school. Soon the two are seeing each other on a more 'serious' level. When Frankie grows suspicious that Michael is sleeping with Lila, like a spoilt kid, he wants his ball back and the story slips into one about sibling rivalry and who actually has Lila's best interests at heart.
It's a bittersweet tale handled well and on the whole solidly performed with its dysfunctional characters well defined and believable. Some of the heart-to-hearts between Lila and Michael fall a little flat and lack spontaneity, but other scenes they share are truly touching, and others painfully funny. Some of the dialogue made me laugh out loud, and Joan Jett, in her intermittent scenes, is fabulous in her romantic comedy debut. The final scenes at the wedding (I won't tell you whose) are literally a riot. The movie moves along at a brisk pace, hardly flagging, and takes full advantage of its authentic locations. Even with my limited knowledge of the city I could tell that Roy and Rocco know their locale and its inhabitants, and how to capture them.
Roy Frumkes' first cameo appearance comes immediately after a scene where Michael is discussing Hitchcock movies, and of course will be cited by Roy from now on as being wholly intentional. Not one to miss out on a free lunch, he also appears as a wedding guest.
THE SWEET LIFE won the Best Romantic Comedy Award at the New York Independent International Film and Video Festival, and was the Official Opening Night Selection at the Back East Picture Show.
Roy and Rocco Simonelli have a long association and you can read both their bios in the Credits section of this site.
