How Funny Can Sex Be?

Sessomatto ("Sex Madness," but released in English as "How Funny Can Sex Be?") is comprised of a series of eight comic sketches, each on average 10-15 minutes long, all having to do with sex, and all featuring two of the giants of Italian cinema in the 1970s, Giancarlo Giannini and Laura Antonelli.

The sex in the movie is pretty tame by 21st century standards, and much of its humour comes from things that would have been shocking in the 1970s but aren't any more, a lot of that humour having been diluted over time. However, what interested me most was the sharp contrast between the acting styles of the two talented leads. Giannini is consistently cartoonishly exaggerated, following in the tradition of many great comedians, from Chaplin to the Marx Brothers to Jerry Lewis to Lucille Ball and Jackie Chan. Antonelli, on the other hand, takes a completely opposite tack by trying to realistically portray how someone might actually act if caught in a ridiculous situation. This follows the style of equally wonderful comic actors like Carole Lombard, Jimmy Stewart and Julia Roberts.

Antonelli is also one of the finest examples of how to act with just one's eyes. I rated this based on how most audiences will see it, which is as mildly amusing and mildly sexy. But for those with a special interest in comedy acting, I would rate it much higher.