Il tango della gelosia

I caught this Italian sex farce the other day on the MGM HD channel. It features beautiful Monica Vitti as a frustrated princess who doubts the devotion of her husband, who seems more interested in his prize race horse than his wife. So the scheming and insecure woman then enlists the help of her amorous bodyguard in an all-out attempt to arouse her disinterested husband's jealousy.

The Italian locales and locations are certainly beautiful, and the mature Monica Vitti does her utmost to enliven the proceedings with her hot-tempered charm and charisma. Unfortunately, she is saddled with a less-than-stellar supporting cast, including the pudgy actor portraying her smitten bodyguard, who fancies himself as the next Rudolph Valentino. And since Valentino made famous at least one Latin dance, we arrive at the English title, Tango of Jealousy.

But the laughs are too few and far between, and although the climax does provide a genuine chuckle or two, there isn't enough zaniness or even enough off-beat characters to make it as hilarious as one would hope.

** out of *****