Frivolous Lola

Title: "Frivolous Lola" (AKA "Monella", 1998)
Genre: Erotic Comedy
Rating: NR (not rated by MPAA)
Length of Time: 105 mins

What is it about?: Lola (Anna Ammirati), who is engaged to marry Masetto (Mario Parodi), vehemently opposes Masetto's desire to wait until they are married to consummate their relationship. Lola wants to know that he is a good lover before she marries him. She is convinced that he refuses to be physically intimate with her just to make sure she remains a faithful virgin before they are married.

She rebelliously rides around the Italian countryside on her bicycle, exposing her derriere underneath a wind-blown skirt, and flirts with her mother's boyfriend, Andre (Patrick Mower). Although Lola fantasizes about being with him, Andre is hesitant about giving in to her because he is not sure whether she is his daughter. Instead, he dabbles in pornography and toys with the idea of being Lola's lover. Lola continues her seduction strategies to get Masetto jealous enough to succumb to her will and Andre' weak enough to do the same.

My Review: 1/5 Stars--and that's being very generous. Bottom line-- this movie lacks depth. It places heavy emphasis on sex, which I have no problem with ("Lady Chatterley" handles the subject well), and BAD sex, at that. There's nothing erotic about it. There's nothing funny about it (except its absurdity). So, don't be fooled by the genre label.

The men in this movie act like sex-crazed maniacs and the women act like sex-starved nymphos... and for no apparent reason at all. The director brazenly shared his obsession with female buttocks and body hair, but the actual sex scenes were terrible. At some point, I told myself "I'm not even gonna try to understand it".

What did I like about it? The soundtrack wasn't bad, which featured authentic (I think) Italian music (such as "Hey Mambo" by Rosemary Clooney) AND the 1950's setting was breathtakingly stunning. While the plot itself was void of substance, there was a scene that provided a much-appreciated safe-sex message. The actors were also beautiful as they flaunted nude, well-figured bodies.

The version I saw had English voice overs which was more convenient than subtitles, but some of the original emotion of the film was lost.

My Recommendation: Skip it. Simple enough? Unless you are familiar with Director Tinto Brass' work ("Cheeky!", "All Ladies Do It", "Miranda", "Caligula") and you like it, you will probably hate this. If you like porn, go see porn. Although there is an abundance of T & A here, you will probably look at "Frivolous Lola" as BAD porn. Try "Sex and Death 101" if you're looking for a sexy comedy. If you're looking for a movie that has a more developed incest plot, try "Angels and Insects" instead.