Girl from Rio

What an odd film. Very dated feel. Could almost be older than the 70's - maybe "Ealing" period. It has a naive charm and is mildly amusing in parts. I think the dated feel is that it was not an English production and was perhaps never intended for release in the U.K.?

I could see how it would be popular in Brasil itself and was liked there judging from some of the other IMDb reviewers. I only watched it because of my love for all things Brazilian - wife, food, music etc etc and hence the 7 out of 10 as opposed to the 3 I should have given it.

I don't know if I would be able to recommend this to anyone else. Maybe samba-lovers? Hugh Laurie obsessives? 40-something men going through a mid-life crisis???

Being a fan of Hugh Laurie I have spent the last few years trying to track down this hard to find film on DVD. Eventually found an Australian copy on ebay ! Look out for it.

After watching the film I was shocked and disappointed at how such a wonderful film could have been so overlooked. This is a film that has a great storyline, excellent cast and locations, great comedy, superb direction and soundtrack....and yet as far as I can tell, was a dismal failure at the box office and is only available on DVD in Norway and Australia - and even there, difficult to find.

If you get the chance to rent or buy this DVD - do so immediately - you will not be disappointed.

Now where can I buy the soundtrack CD ?

...in a you-always-know-exactly-what's-going-to-happen kind of way. Girl From Rio is hardly going to have you glued to the screen, or really make you think in any kind of way, but it makes for a pleasant couple of hours all the same, spattered through with a few decent laughs and the delightful Vanessa Nunes (or, to be more exact, Nunes' delightful backside).

Most of the movie's charm is, unsurprisingly, attributable to Laurie's performance; while hardly stretched (Raymond is the sort of character he can probably play in his sleep by now) he nonetheless remains both sympathetic and genuinely likable throughout. So much so, in fact, that you can forgive the quite remarkable implausibility of the whole thing, along with some absolutely horrendous support turns, a lazy script, pedestrian direction and some ridiculous soundtrack choices (such as when Raymond finally gets to dance with Orlinda and the samba beat bizarrely fades into a fromage-encrusted swell of strings). Indeed, that a movie so intrinsically flawed and worthless can be made perfectly enjoyable is a sturdy testament to Laurie's charisma.

Well, that and Nunes' arse...

Although not technically perfect or with the most amazing 3D effects, actually no effects at all, the film can entangle you in a eerie feeling. I just finished watching it and I am feeling it. The sense of unachievable goals, of beautiful girls, excellent beaches and love through pictures firstly and then at first sight can make you feel awkward.

The story is simple and the plot is naive. Nothing of these would have happened in real life. But, because there is always a but, the film has it's own way into making you mix in the plot. Feel a part of it. Who has not felt betrayed, self-pitted, deserted or just confined in his everyday prison of routine? Who wouldn't like to travel to exotic places and meet beautiful girls of his dreams if he had the chance? Who isn't bullied by other people everyday even if those people are your boos, your landlord, your parents, your wife?

The film tries to make a statement. Simple and clear. The statement is based on everyone's life. So don't ask what I have understood because it, possibly, is different from what you have understood. I matched for some things even with Paulo, the taxi-driver, the penny "thief", the man-for-all-businesses. Watch the film carefully and you will observe that you have similarities with every character in this film.

"Who doesn't like Samba, you'd rather not meet

There's sick in the head,or lame in the feet"

Wrote Dorival Caymmi in 'Samba da Minha Terra'

It seems another punter doesn't know the difference between Salsa and Samba. The difference is the same as between Spanish and Portuguese.

I arrived at this film by accident. I had video taped it and promptly forgot about it. Then I tried to get through City of God and Favela Rising. I know City of God is well thought of but both films I found upsetting. Drugs, kids, killing, guns and gangsters. Enough of that!

As usual I was looking for some spare tape on my badly listed VHS tapes. I fast forwarded a bit, caught the end of another programme I had taped. Then suddenly my favourite Samba beat struck up ! It then alternated with a Northern British brass band. All done in early 1970's bright cartoon style. It was the rhythms that caught my attention. Then came the name of the film ...'The Girl from Rio' I was hooked !

The story of this film has already been recounted by previous posters along with the confusion of Salsa and Samba.

I must make a confession, I have been to Samba classes just like Raymond ran in the film. This may be one of the reasons I liked it, identification. Of course there were faults. How did Orlinda open the safe in Raymond's room, a nice big combination lock thing? Santos Dumont Airport was used, Raymond takes of in a Boeing 737 and lands in a MD-11. It would not be unusual to take off from Santos Dumont, land in Sao Paulo. Then get the flight to London. Yet does that matter, for the artistic continuity of the film the way it was done was good enough. How many people would know anyway ?

I was very envious of Raymond's trip to the Salgueiro Samba School and his girlfriend Orlinda(Vanessa Nunes).

When Orlinda appeared out of the crowd of Samba dancers to dance in front of Raymond, I was captivated.

The film was a fun piece of nonsense that I found very enjoyable. I loved the twist at the end. I loved the twist of Orlinda as she danced the Samba. So infectious, neither Robert or myself could stay still.

Strangely back in 1997 I wrote a story with basic similarities. Check out the link:- 'Sex is Great! If you can get it ?' http://www.geocities.com/cafebrasilia_2000/index5.html