I cannot believe I finally saw this movie! This is a definitive Sophia Loren movie, and the epitome of her work with Marcello Mastroianni. The two are fantastic together. He is hilarious, particularly in the third episode. She, of course, is incomparable, and the show is hers. But watching them have fun together is a special joy.
This is filmed with the two stars playing three different couples in three different Italian cities. In the first, they are a young married couple in Naples. They have no money, but that is not an issue. Keeping Sophia out of jail is the issue. It's pretty cool.
In the second she is a super-rich socialite in Milan who picks up Marcello as a toy, then literally discards him on the side of the road in favor of the next guy.
The third is the icing on the cake. Sophia is a high class prostitute in Rome and Marcello is a customer who adores her. This is the movie with the famous strip-tease by Sophia while Marcello crouches on the bed and howls at her like a dog. It's gorgeous.
There are movies that do NOT hold up at all. This one does - why? I don't know. The strength of the leads, I guess. The timelessness of the characters? The authentic glimpse of Italian life? Just watch it!
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