La moglie in vacanza... l'amante in citta'

This Italian sex comedy probably couldn't help but be well above average because it features a lot of the top talent of the genre at a time when they were all at the top of their game.

The director is Sergio Martino, who was the best at these type of movies. The two main male actors are Renzo Montagnani and Lino Banfi. Montagnani usually either played a hapless husband or an unlikely stud in these movies. Here he does the former as a husband trying to very unsuccessfully juggle his demanding wife and his even more demanding mistress. Banfi was excellent in his films with Martino and Montagnani. The most interesting thing about this movie though is that it pairs the two most famous sexy comediennes of the genre (both of whom, interestingly were non-Italian), Edwige Fenech and Barbara Bouchet. The pair had earlier appeared together in the anthology film "Sex with a Smile", but here they actually share the screen and even engage in a brief catfight!

The story is also pretty decent. After his wife (Bouchet) goes on vacation, her husband (Montagnani) stays in the city, supposedly to take care of business, but really to mollify his mistress (Fenech). It turns out though the wife is also planning an extra-marital assignation with a "count", who is really her husband's assistant in disguise. To complete this ruse, the assistant uses the villa where his cousin (Banfi) works as a butler. After she manages to lose most of her clothes in a mishap, the wife goes to meet up with her husband at a hotel in the Alps wearing only an expensive fur coat she has borrowed from the villa. The cousins follow to retrieve the coat, and the husband heads there too trailed by his mistress and his mother-in-law. The whole thing then turns into a bedroom farce that also involves a well-endowed Russian violinist.

This movie is genuinely funny in many places, and while some people accuse this genre of being sexist, it certainly isn't here as the hapless males have no chance against the women, who not only get what they want, but also full sexual satisfaction.

Montagnani's character by contrast gets unknowingly cuckolded in every way possible, while Banfi's goes into full-blown gay panic after being kissed by the violinist. The movie doesn't have as much female nudity as usual with only a moderate amount provided by Fenech and some brief moments provided by Bouchet. But unlike some of the other Italian comedy actresses these two were more than talented enough to get away with this (and they're both very sexy even fully dressed). All in all, I would definitely recommend this film for a good laugh.