bobby and sandy sitting in a tree...

Having covered Sicily in the 1860s and 1940s, let's travel clear to the other end of Italy, to Milan in the summer of '61. Rock Hudson, as always the world's most eligible bachelor, arrives at his villa, two months earlier than usual, to hook up with mistress Gina Lollobrigida. Unfortunately, some changes have been made while he was away, and the couple must first get rid of co-eds Bobby Darin, desperate to get in some girl's pants, and Sandra Dee, desperate to lose her pants. Sound like a recipe for fun?

Well, maybe just a little. Come September tweaks the classic Doris Day formula by replacing dowdy virgin Doris with Latin spitfire Lollo. Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin met on the set, and were married before the release. Bobby Darin, at the height of his career, sings a song, Rock engages in some (unintentionally?) hilarious dancing, and Gina prances around in a nightie. But something's missing.

Could it be good lines? While the dialogue's not bad, neither is it particularly original. The plot is quite good for a romantic comedy, the delivery adequate-to-great, but the punchlines lack punch. They're either predictable, or just not very funny.

Also, despite four charismatic leads, there's not much chemistry between the couples. Just goes to prove that real life chemistry has nothing to do with igniting a spark on screen. Rock and Gina have moments together on screen, but we all know they didn't in real life. Whereas Dee and Darin look bored with each other. Were they saving it for the wrap party?

Still, Rock is always a riot, and Gina has her moments. Maybe it's me: la Lollo's definitely got the goods, but after just watching Claudia Cardinale and Monica Bellucci strut their stuff, I thought Gina was mostly just cute. More like Rita Moreno (who won Best Supporting Actress that year for West Side Story) than Sophia Loren.

Or maybe the real chemistry is not between the actors but between writer Stanley Shapiro and Doris Day. He had worked on Pillow Talk with her; his next two scripts, Lover Come Back and That Touch of Mink, were also for Day. Maybe the cuteness is just Shapiro projecting Doris onto Gina. I like Doris, but enough is enough: I want to see more of Gina.