The Woman in Red (1984)

The movie begins with Teddy apparently about to jump off a ledge nine stories up. Why? He starts to tell us how it all began, and we go back to that day with the scene straight out of 'Seven Year Itch', only Charlotte has dark hair and is dressed in red. And it turns out she is a model for the San Francisco cable car ad campaign, which Teddy is involved with. Despite that, Teddy has a lot of trouble meeting this woman, and his attempts meet with humorous results. For example, on more than one occasion he thinks he is talking to her but it turns out to be Ms. Milner, and this is good for a number a laughs.

Teddy, however, shouldn't be thinking about another woman. He is married to Didi and they have two daughters. If Teddy needed any incentive to behave himself, he should keep in mind what happened to Joey when he cheated on Teresa (Joey and Teresa's young son is staying with Teddy and Didi). And apparently he is not destined to have a relationship with Charlotte, because his attempts are just one disaster after another.

Gene Wilder is good as always, especially with physical comedy and when he has to talk his way out of jams. Kelly LeBrock is pleasant and sweet, with a slightly naughty side (I saw an edited version, so I surely didn't see all there was of her). Gilda Radner is nasty in a way that didn't appeal to me, but others might like it. I liked most of the songs by Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder, some of which they did together--though one gets played entirely too much on the radio all these years later and I got tired of it long ago. There is some physical comedy, but plenty of funny situations too. But the movie is not all funny. Some of it is touching, and some parts are depressing.

Some highlights, in addition to Joey's nasty surprise and Ms. Milner's bizarre behavior:

-We hear one side of what may be a very naughty phone conversation at Teddy's workplace.

-A hilarious scene in a nice restaurant where one of Teddy's friends pretends to be blind and causes chaos.

-Shelly, whose hairstyle sort of looks Native American (while black on the sides, it's red and blonde in the middle) even though his parents are Jewish, has come to take Teddy's daughter Missy to a David Bowie concert.

-Didi explains what happened to Joey and Teresa but doesn't say everything.

-Teddy and Didi are getting ready for a big night, but that gets interrupted.

-Teddy's grandmother Mama Dell is celebrating her 85th birthday. I can't say more, but from the time Teddy arrives at her apartment until the end of the movie, everything is great and most of it is very funny. I can say, since this is how the movie began, that Teddy does end up out on a ledge.

This was a pleasant, slightly naughty farce that was really worth seeing.

Fmovies: Light comedies look like the easiest things to make when they work, but when they don't, it's more like quantum physics on acid. Take this 1984 sex farce.

Teddy Pierce (Gene Wilder) is a happily married ad man in San Francisco who goes gaga when he catches a glimpse of a beautiful model (Kelly LeBrock) in racy undies. With the help of some friends, Teddy works around the suspicions of his wife (Judith Ivey) and the anger of a spurned co-worker (Gilda Radner) to arrange a furtive rendezvous with the object of his desire.

Best remembered today for the film debut of the bodacious LeBrock and a soundtrack that featured Stevie Wonder's hit song "I Just Called To Say I Love You," this is a movie that aims low and still misses. Wilder, who wrote and directed, presents a comedy that is not only not funny, but so tonally off as to become uncomfortable to watch.

Take the scenes with Radner. One of the great comedic talents of her time, Radner's wasted here as the butt of humor as mean as it is nonsensical. We see her as a love-starved crone being duped by bad luck into thinking Teddy wants to get romantic with her, only to find he doesn't. This drives her to inflict vengeance on him and his helpless car. Why does Teddy put up with this, rather than take it up with her or with HR?

You might answer that it's because this is a farce, but elsewhere "The Woman In Red" is played much more dramatically, too much so. Two of Teddy's male friends undergo crises involving romantic partners that are played very seriously, and developed in a heavy- handed way by Wilder that threatens his largely jokeless comedy. Or was I supposed to be laughing when Joseph Bologna has a nervous breakdown after discovering his wife and kids left him?

Wilder is only a little more successful working on Teddy's home life, as when Teddy discovers his wife keeps a revolver around the house and admits to being easily jealous.

"You realize you might have shot me?" he tells her after her gun accidentally goes off.

"I would never do that," she answers. "Not without a reason."

There are also little side bits that never make any sense, like a daughter's boyfriend who sports an aggressive Mohawk hairdo and makes clumsy passes at Teddy's wife, or a destructive and pointless gag Teddy's friends play at a fancy restaurant. These don't connect to the main story, and they aren't funny on their own.

At one point, we discover Teddy's wife hosts a diet clinic in their home for reasons that are never explained. The entire purpose of this seems to be to provide Wilder with an excuse for some physical humor, walking through a thick crowd of people in his character's living room while an instructor drones on about something called "the Alphabet diet:" "You have to watch yourself carefully because by the time you get to 'P,' you might put on all the weight you lost on 'K,'" she tells them.

And what of LeBrock's character, Charlotte? As male fantasy object, she certainly works for me. Yet except for one scene in an elevator with Charles Grodin (playing one of Teddy's friends), she never breaks out of that to develop any comic identity or dramatic interest.

Wilder's performance alternates between goofy and wan; he was in an odd period in his career after some fantastic comedic performances over the prior 15 years apparently left him with no more mou

TWIR is a classic in a way that many others claim to be...but aren't. As a comedy I don't think it has you bending over in fits of laughter, but there are some great scenes in there. Kelly Le Brock's character remains one of the hottest characters even to grace the screen. She was simply gorgeous and a knockout - a perfect fit for the role.

The combination of great soundtrack courtesy of Stevie Wonder, the wonderful acting of Wilder, and the indescribable beauty of Le Brock form a powerful combination that helps explain why people are still watching this flick today - 23 years on!!

I'd like to hear from those who gave it low votes - just what was missing from the film that you wanted to see?

The Woman in Red fmovies. This is the film which is very dear to me. It stars my favorite actor: Gene Wilder.

The film deals with the topic of love-at-first-sigh and what a love and at what a time in his life!!! San Francisco ad man Teddy Pierce (Wilder) falls head over heals in love with Charlotte (Kelly LeBrock) as she walks over a grate and a rush of air from the grate causes her skirt to lift up in a revealing manner (a parody of Marilyn Monroe in The Seven-Year Itch).

Teddy is happily married to Didi, but he can't get this woman out of his mind. Encouraged by his friends Buddy, Joe and Michael, he tries to ask her for a date but mistakenly phones Ms. Milner, a plain ad-agency employee, instead. Teddy ultimately does become acquainted with Charlotte.

He begins using elaborate ruses to see her socially without his wife finding out. Meanwhile, he incurs the wrath of Ms. Milner, whom he stands up. Events come to a head in Charlotte's high-rise apartment, where she invites Teddy into her bed.

What happens next is for YOU to find out.

Buy this one without further delay.

Wilder's only film he directed in a contemporary setting is by far his most successful effort. His other films (most notably "The Adventure Of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" 9/10) have had higher levels of zany gags in them, but here he has crafted a down to Earth domestic comedy and it is very funny. His performance is, as usual, superb and he is surrounded by well chosen actors who also provide laughs. The ending leans a bit too close to whimsical, but it hardly deters the viewer's enjoyment. Scenes involving Wilder's character and his friends jokingly discussing each other's affairs is equal to the perfectly written exchanges of a Woody Allen movie. Also worth noting is Gilda Radner's brilliant love lorn and scorned office colleague. Her presence on screen is a real high point.

I first seen this movie years ago and really liked it, and now after checking it out again, it still has that magic. It also includes a fine cast of stars. Gene Wilder is pretty funny in this. There are plenty of gags too. But, unlike most comedy films, there is a decent and enjoyable storyline included as well. So I'd say there's something for everyone in this movie. It's romantic, funny, engaging and damn right crazy at times! Check it out! 8/10