Giovannona Long-Thigh

The absolutely gorgeous Edwige Fenech is reunited once again with comic Pippo Franco for this Sergio Martino-directed Italian sex comedy. Their last pairing was Ubalda, All Naked and Warm.

Fenech enthusiastically throws herself into the role of a streetwalker with a heart of gold who is asked to pose as the wife of a shady businessman (Gigi Ballista) in order to seduce a government official (Vittorio Caprioli) into reopening a cheese factory that was closed for pollution.

The usual sexual hijacks ensue! Very little sex, just occasional nudity, and a lot of screwball comedy.

Fenech looks magnificent. This was Martino and Fenech's first sexy comedy after a string of successful giallos and set the tone for future entries in the genre.

It was starting to look like a Benny Hill movie at the end, but everything worked out.

Italy didn't exactly hold back when it came to ripping off films back in the seventies - everything from Dirty Harry to Jaws got the Italian treatment, but I must say I never expected to see an Italian sex comedy version of the classic romantic comedies of thirties USA! Even more surprising than the premise of this film is the fact that it's good! Sergio Martino, a director who tried his hand at a number of different genres, but will always be best remembered for his superb Giallo efforts such as The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh and The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, has put together a delightful comedy that works thanks to the fact that the action never lets up, and it's really quite funny! The plot focuses on Commendatore La Noce, a man who has polluted a river. He realises that he has to bribe an honourable to get away with it - but the problem is that the honourable in question IS completely honourable. However, he does have one vice - he likes to sleep with other people's wives. Not wanting use his own frigid other half, the Commendatore lets his assistant find him a prostitute to act as his wife.

It was actually quite odd watching this film as after watching a number of Italian sex movies, I've come to expect a lot of sleaze. This one features brief nudity and some swearing, but it's extremely tame overall. Martino has made the film more 'cheeky' than anything else, as the lead characters are sexually promiscuous, but sex itself isn't actually seen. This is no bad thing, however, as loads of sex would have distracted from the comedy. Of course, my main reason for seeing this film was because it stars the beautiful Edwige Fenech - and although I say this almost every time I see one of her films, she really has never looked better than she does here! Martino and Fenech worked together on a number of occasions throughout their careers, and it shows as the director really knows how to make best use of his stunning lead actress! The plot is quite incidental to the set pieces, but it's not important as the film is never boring. The scenes aboard the train midway through are the best, but the film introduces new things to chew every time it seems to be drying up, and this ensures that Giovannona Long-Thigh is absolutely great fun to watch!

Comic movie that has some funny moments but also some very low ones. The plot, while not exceptional, develops smoothly and Fenech is perfect in the part of the woman of the street.

Not, for me, as funny as 'Umbalda, All Naked And Warm', from the year before and also starring the lovely Edwige Fenech but still pleasant enough. All the usual Italian preoccupations on view, Catholic church, bribing of government officials, streetwalkers, although now I think of it barely any eating! Unless you count the seductive sucking on a bread stick from Edwige, not much eating at all. As usual although it is the men who come up with all the scheming it is the women who make the running in all the action. And action there is in this sunny farce, non-stop, actually which prevents it from getting too dull . Added to which some of the jokes really are funny, if only the bumbling Pippo Franco weren't quite so bumbling, I quite liked him in Umbalda but less so in this. Bit of a Benny hill finale this is not meant to be serious and it does have Edwige in various stages of loveliness.

As it turns out, Edwige Fenech didn't just appear in top-notch giallo thrillers directed and produced by, respectively, brothers Sergio and Luciano Martino. Following her appearances in such excellent gialli as "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" (1970), "All the Colors of the Dark" (1972) and "Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key" (1972), Edwige appeared in the team's 1972 Italian sex comedy "Giovanonna Long Thigh," with winning results. In this one, Edwige plays a stunningly beautiful (natch) streetwalker who's hired by a doofus functionary of a polluting cheese factory to seduce a certain government official. The doofus in question is played by Pippo Franco, who had just appeared with Edwige in the even funnier and sexier "Ubalda, All Naked and Warm" (also 1972...a busy year for Edwige!). Fenech, despite playing a hooker here, surprisingly remains mostly clothed for the duration of the film, some brief topless flashes excepted. Viewers interested in seeing her more in the altogether are advised to check out any of the other titles mentioned above. What this film DOES offer is an extremely fast-moving story, some outrageous situations, some truly laff-out-loud moments, and a sped-up conclusion that almost seems like an Italian variation of "Benny Hill." No Shame has provided us with yet another gorgeous-looking DVD, with one unfortunate problem: The subtitles get frozen for around 10 minutes around 2/3 of the way in. And in a rapid-dialogue film such as this one, that's a big loss! Still, the film is well worth your time, if only for another opportunity to bask in Edwige's exquisite presence...