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Blame It on Rio
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Wikipedia article
'Blame It on Rio' is a 1984 American romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Charlie Peters and Larry Gelbart based on the 1977 French film 'Un moment d'garement', starring an ensemble cast led by Michael Caine, Joseph Bologna, Michelle Johnson, Valerie Harper, Demi Moore, and Jos Lewgoy.
Plot
Matthew Hollis is married to Karen, and father to teenaged daughter, Nikki. Victor, Matthew's colleague and best friend, who is going through a divorce, is father to 17-year-old Jennifer. Matthew's marriage is not going well for reasons not explained. Just before they are to embark for a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Karen says she is going on vacation to Bahia by herself to "think about everything." Matthew and Victor decide to go to Rio with their daughters. Jennifer and Nikki share a room, where she says to Nikki, "Your father is so sweet... I used to have a crush on him", to which Nikki replies, "Me, too". At the beach, Victor and Matthew sees a lot of music and pass numerous young girls and women walking around topless. The fathers spot their daughters in their bikinis in the distance, but the girls turn around to reveal that they are topless as well.
After dropping the girls off at a wedding, the men visit a pub. After Victor pairs off with a local divorce, Matthew winds up at the wedding, where he runs into Jennifer. Suddenly all attendees of the wedding strip down to their briefs and panties and take a dip in the cold ocean. Jennifer insists on having Matthew join them. But as soon as Matthew says that the water is warmer than he anticipated, Jennifer passionately kisses him which Nikki witnesses, and the two proceed to have sex on the beach. Next morning, Matthew stresses it can never happen again but to no avail, Jennifer begins seducing Matthew in various inappropriate situations. At one point, while Victor and Nikki are having breakfast in the garden, Jennifer kisses Matthew while he is shaving and transfers some shaving foam to her cheek. At another point she touches his crotch bulge from under the table while having dinner and eventually the two make love again.
Jennifer tearfully tells her father that she had an affair with an "older man". Victor becomes furious and sets out to hunt down the mystery man, expecting Matthew to help. While Matthew tries to talk Jennifer into ending their relationship, she is determined to never give him up and takes a naked polaroid of herself and gives it to Matthew in public while riding Sugarloaf Cable Car. Matthew ultimately discloses to his friend that Jennifer had the affair with him. Victor is not as irritated as Matthew expects, because Victor is revealed to have been having an affair with Karen.
Jennifer tries to take her own life with an overdose of birth control pills, but survives and the incident brings all of the friends closer together, although the men constantly object about each other's sexual misconduct. Karen and Matthew decide to work on their marital problems, Jennifer begins dating a young male nurse she met while recuperating in the hospital, and Matthew thanks daughter Nikki for being the only one who has not misbehaved. As closing credits roll, Matthew, in voice-over narration, says, "You only live once, but it does help if you get to be young twice".
Cast
* Michael Caine as Matthew Hollis
* Joseph Bologna as Victor Lyons
* Michelle Johnson as Jennifer Lyons
* Demi Moore as Nicole (Nikki) Hollis
* Valerie Harper as Karen Hollis
* Jos Lewgoy as Eduardo Marques
* Lupe Gigliotti as Signora Botega
* Nelson Dantas as Doctor
Production
The film was shot on location in Rio de Janeiro.Closing credits of 'Blame It on Rio (1984)' (DVD) Johnson, who was 17 at the time of filming, received permission from a judge to appear topless and bottomless in some scenes of the film.
Reception
Vincent Canby, reviewing 'Blame It on Rio', stated "...there's not a single funny or surprising moment in the movie. However, 'Blame It on Rio' is not simply humorless. It also spreads gloom. It's one of those unfortunate projects that somehow suggests that everyone connected with the movie hated it and all of the other people involved." The Australian newspaper 'The Canberra Times' described 'Blame It on Rio' as "one of the worst movies ever made and definitely the most banal piece of rubbish to have Michael Caine's name on the creditsand he has quite a few bombs to his credit."Hugh Lamberton, "TV Movies" 'The Canberra Times', May 6th, 1991. (p. 36) Roger Ebert gave the film 1 star out of a possible 4, writing: "It's really unsettling to see how casually this movie takes a serious situation. A disturbed girl is using sex to play mind games with a middle-aged man, and the movie get its yuks with slapstick scenes [...] What's shocking is how many first-rate talents are associated with this sleaze."Ebert, Roger. [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/blame-it-on-rio-1984 Blame it On Rio movie review] 1 January 1984. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
Rotten Tomatoes gave 'Blame It on Rio' a rating of 8% based on reviews from 24 critics.
References
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