Don't Play with Tigers

This is the really the last of Sergio Martino's sex comedies, and while it is certainly weaker than "Sex with a Smile", "Sex with a Smile 2", and his section of "Saturday, Sunday, and Friday", it's not a bad film either. It's better than "Tigers in Lipstick" (with which the English-language title tries to connect it). And, it's as good as those films about teachers, nurses, policewomen, and schoolgirls that co-stars Lino Banfi and Edwige Fenech were always appearing in the 70's.

There are only three stories here and the first and third are by far the better. The first story has Pippo Franco as a beleaguered father trying to take his wife (Adrianna Russo) and children on a beach vacation, but his plans are jeopardized by a group of obnoxious French nudists, who want to share the same stretch of deserted beach.

The second story has the ubiquitous Lino Banfi playing a crooked businessman staying at a hotel with his unattractive wife while trying to arrange a military marriage for his equally unattractive daughter. He gets side-tracked though by another attractive German guest (Janet Agren) who likes to play cards and engages him a game of strip poker. This segment seems mostly recycled from a lot of earlier Martino comedies with the unattractive Banfi running around the hotel in his underwear (as in "Cream Puffs") and some fun courtesy of the German woman's big dog.

The last story is about factory owner trying to save his business--and himself from his angry unpaid workers--by signing a deal with a rich Arab. The Arab, however, apparently wants his sexy wife (Edwige Fenech) thrown in as part of the deal, but there is a funny twist at the end.

The frame story for all these takes place in an Italian court where these three misadventures have all resulted in legal action and from which they are each related in flashback. (There's some funny scenes here of everybody else in courtroom profusely sweating while the doddering old judge complains of "draughts" and demands windows be closed, fans turned off, etc).

There is a lot more comedy than sex in this particular film. Fenech does keep her clothes on for once, but after fifteen years of these movies, she had certainly earned the right. Fenech was a naturally talented comedienne and by this point had certainly got good at these sort of roles, so her lack of nudity, while regrettable, is not really a problem. Overall, still most enjoyable and shows the terrific comedic talent of Banfi and Franco.