Lovers and Liars (1980)

As Good As It Gets

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Knew nothing of this film when I put it in the player, except that Goldie Hawn was central to it. I see the original film ran over 120 minutes, my disc says 96. It should have been even less. The plot is predictable - Italian male professional, married with family has to leave town because of a family crisis. When he can't persuade a woman with whom he had an affair a year previously to come with him on his trip, he takes in her place an American woman (played by Hawn) who happens to be staying with the first woman. The story is an attempt to develop the relationship between Hawn and Giannini. Some of the element of unbelievability comes from the unbelievable boorishness of the latter. Some of it is contributed by the jumps in continuity. And the poor color control of my disc did not help. Oh, and did I mention the dubbing? There were some interesting insights into Italian family life, and there were some revelations in the last quarter of the movie that in a better director's hands would have portrayed some aspects of Italian family life to much greater effect. The funeral becomes a very interesting occasion.There is brief nudity near the start and near the end of the film.

Giancarlo Giannini plays an outstanding role as a guy who has a mistress and the opening scene shows them both together in bed. Giancarlo leaves and comes back and finds Goldie Hawn answering the door of his mistress house. To make a long story short, he takes Goldie Hawn on a trip with him to his dying father's house. However, along the way he tries to hit on Goldie and as she sits innocently with her legs crossed. These two stars fight like cats and dogs through out the picture or just like a married couple after a year of each other. This is a very screwball comedy involving adultery and anything else that is not kosher. Goldie looks so young and beautiful and both actors give an outstanding performance. This is truly a great Goldie Hawn Classic film with plenty of laughs.

As a huge Goldie Hawn fan, I collect all her films. I spotted this DVD for $4.99 brand new and thought it was a bargain. I have never heard of this title and now I know why. Set in Italy, many of the actor's voices(sans Goldie) are dubbed to English. The plot is lame, the acting is horrible, and only Goldie Hawn gives a good performance(I have yet to see a movie in which Goldie wasn't good). But even the talents of Goldie Hawn cannot save this horrible excuse for a film. If you are a Goldie fan, and feel you need to have this in your collection, don't expect anything special from this 1970's era film. If you are not a Goldie fan, avoid this!

Scrappy Italian comedy is made up of bits and pieces, never quite coming together. Goldie Hawn (vivacious as ever) is an American actress vacationing in Rome who gets mixed up with her friend's married lover (a smoldering Giancarlo Giannini). They have little screwball mishaps and misunderstandings before making hot love in a hammock (although on US prints of the movie, there's an intrusive cut-away just as this scene heats up--perhaps there is an Italian version that Americans aren't 'mature' enough to see?). Hawn is in scatterbrain-mode, and I got a little tired of her whining about her cat, but she has fine moments too and works well with Giancarlo. There's a funny scene near the beginning when GG visits his current lover and finds her undressed--surprised, she grabs the first thing she can find to cover herself, which is of course a poster of herself naked! The editing is sloppy, the sound is fuzzy, and the finale left me scratching my head (is it Giancarlo's fantasy or for real?), but I liked "Lovers And Liars"/"Travels With Anita" for the little glimmers of good humor. Besides, Hawn is always worth a look. ** from ****