Word: wilderness
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...OPENING SCENE of Gene Wilder's latest film, The World's Greatest Lover, is a masterpiece in parody. Wilder, with his eyes bulging from his head in a passionate glare, impersonates a Valentinoesque Spanish dancer clinging to a sultry female partner. The couple's exaggerated motions, sexy facial expressions, and intensely serious gestures are indeed funny. The scene shows Wilder in his best comic form, and in that brief moment, the movie almost lives up to the expectations created by its title. But the remainder of the film never fulfills its promise. This sequence is, for both Wilder...
...little genius and a lot of banality compose The World's Greatest Lover, and Wilder is responsible for both. As a writer, director and actor he exhibits a wide range of abilities and sensibilities. Unfortunately, his humor has a hit-or-miss quality to it, and he does not always amuse the viewers. Instead of marveling at how much Wilder can do, one leaves the movie speculating how good it might have been had Wilder not tried so hard...
...PLOT CONCENTRATES on the problems of a Milwaukee baker (played by Wilder) who must compete with the screen idol Rudolph Valentino for the admiration of his young wife Annie (Carol Kane). To prove himself to her and also to escape the confinement of his job, Wilder changes his name to Rudy Valentine and moves to Hollywood to compete for the "World's Greatest Lover" role in a studio ad campaign. The couple's proximity to the real Valentino is too much for Annie, who leaves her husband to track down her dream lover at Paramount Studios...
Valentine's consequent attempts to win his wife back are both funny and touching. With the help of the real Valentino, Wilder convinces Annie that the real screen idolis a fellow who "only likes boys." But his charade fails to alter her illusions, and only then does the baker realize that the secret to gaining his wife's love lies in being himself. In these scenes Wilder displays a dramatic sensitivity which his more recent Mel Brooks roles have not allowed him to develop. The comedy and conflicts generated by this situation might have been sufficient material for a light...
...Wilder, like many artists who become too wrapped up in their own films, does not realize when he carries a good thing too far. For example, he hardly passes up an opportunity to clown, and as a result, he often comes off as a buffoon. Most of the puns and cheap sight gags are of dubious comic value, and the fragile thread of humor which supports them eventually breaks when it is stretched to a ridiculous length. In one scene, the train Wilder is on jolts, and Wilder's sleeping wife is thrown to the seat opposite...