Mixed Doubles (1986)

 

(Original title: Doppio misto) Your standard bed swapping tomfoolery; one review said it well: "The whole film is a continuous Vaudevillian game of doors that open and close, of men and women who enter and leave the rooms without ever meeting with their respective spouses." You get the picture.

The story involves two couples and the mustachioed Gigi.  A very "small" film - it could almost be a Neil Simon film - and if you think about California Suite, it kinda is.

Gianni Celletti (Gianni Ciardo), Gigi (Gigi Sammarchi) and Andrea Bonfanti (Andrea Roncato)

Andrea is married to hottie Virginia (Moana Pozzi)

Gianni is married to hottie Teresa (Tinì Cansino).  This scene at the tennis court starts the film, but actually takes places much later.  The two couples haven't actually met yet. 

This will get confusing unless we lay out the main gist of the film. Basically all you need to know: The two couples are Andrea and Virginia, and Gianni and Teresa. The couples cheat on each other: Andrea is fooling around with Teresa, and likewise, Gianni is fooling around with Virginia.  The two couples are scoping out an apartment to buy, and this serves as the setting for incessant bed hopping and silly sexual shenanigans.   Gigi is the wild card who runs the apartment and haphazardly ends up fooling around with both of their wives.  

 

And so it begins with Andrea checking out an apartment to buy, and finding Teresa in the shower.

Teresa gets dressed - but is still dripping wet and showing through her blouse.

They recognize each other from back in school.

They start to fool around when Gigi comes in, and they have to act like they were just dancing.

Gianni is a bit of a silly dope

Gianni doesn't realize Teresa is making calls to Andrea

Scoping out the apartment, Virginia and Gianni run into each other.  And so their tryst begins.

Now both Andrea and Virginia are sneaking around.

Some very well placed suds

Virginia's parents come over

Virginia calls Gianni

The cheating begins with phone tag

Andrea gets flowers for Teresa - and gets a good look at the florist (Loredana Romito).

Collo (Silvio Spaccesi) is Gigi's father (or uncle?) who owns the house where all the shenanigans ensue.

Virginia very nearly catches Andrea here cheating with Teresa.

A running gag is that Gianni keeps cutting himself shaving thanks to all the distractions.

A very forced comedic scene with Andrea yanking a tooth from Collo

Virginia is ready for Gianni.  The empty apartment is perfect for their infidelity.

But just when they're getting started, they hear Andrea arrive.

Virginia goes out the window, which triggers the house alarm.

She ends up hiding out in Gigi's room (as you'll recall, Gigi takes care of the house for Collo).

Virginia has escaped, so she doesn't see that Andrea has brought Teresa with him.

Teresa also has to climb out the window when she hears Gianni arrive.

And she also winds up in Gigi's room.

Time for round two.  The couples are once again at the empty apartment attempting to cheat on their spouses.  Moana Pozzi delivers the best nude scene as she prepares for a shower.

Andrea and Teresa have also arrived.  Andrea sees a nude woman through the shower frosted glass and presumes he's looking at Teresa - not suspecting it's actually his wife.

Andrea is quite shocked when he finds that Teresa is dry as a bone.

Andrea and Teresa struggle to get the inflatable mattress to stay inflated.

This also becomes a recurring gag - as Virginia and Gianni are also using this mattress and causing it to deflate. Again, neither couple suspects the other couple's presence, but keep finding oddities such as this which should have given them a clue.

Teresa takes a shower.

Things aren't going particularly well for Virginia and Gianni's tryst.

Finally they all end up together, a big fight breaks out.

Collo holds them all at gunpoint. THE END

Moana Pozzi and Tinì Cansino are super hot, and constantly providing eye candy (albeit mostly of the rated PG variety). It does feel like an extended Three's Company episode, and no worse than California Suite and the many films of this variety that came out in those days.

 ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆5/10