To my mind, Italy’s First Love (1978), early on, threatens to be charmless and distasteful, and here and there it is. Charm does arrive, though, as do some laughs; but Dino Risi‘s film is not what it ought to be. It concerns a vaudevillian, Ugo, who stays for a while in a rest home for old artists and becomes amorously involved with Renata, the maid there. The theme is the sad fact of aging.

First Love fails because the character of Renata is thoroughly subverted. Risi and co-writer Ruggero Maccari have no idea what they’re doing with her. The woman who plays her, Ornella Muti, is the most gladdening thing about the film. She is likable and gorgeous, but can’t make much headway with this role. A close second among the movie’s assets is the unbeatable performance of Ugo Tognazzi as Ugo. But I strongly doubt that Primo amore occupies primo place among Risi’s films. It is not as good as The Easy Life. In fact, without Muti it would be strikingly drab.

(In Italian with English subtitles)