La voglia addosso

Builder of fast food restaurants turns the big 4-0 and loses interest in his sexually fired-up wife and their leering, stupid relatives; he takes up with a professional cheerleader, leading his spouse to try having a fling of her own. Terrible marital comedy, suggested by the 1977 Jerry Lee Lewis song written by Sonny Throckmorton, presents its characters as prosperous but ignorant hicks--and then asks us to relate to them! Carl Kleinschmitt's witless screenplay is squeezed hard by director John Trent, however not one honest laugh emerges from these lowbrow circumstances. The attempt to turn intense character actor Bruce Dern into a commercial movie star backfires; with his hair darkened and blown dry, Dern tries loosening up, but he doesn't have a fun side to display (the rigors of a comedic performance prove too strenuous for him). No matter what he's doing on-screen, Dern is hyper-controlled to the point of snapping, while co-star Ann-Margret pretends not to notice (she's a smart lady playing it dumb for laughs). The movie is supposed to be wild and sexy and naughty, but desperation shows through like flop sweat. NO STARS from ****