Let's Talk About Men

Just before he became an even greater movie star, Nino Manfredi starred in a number of less well-known films. Among his best efforts from the end of this period is this film, where he plays four different kinds of male scoundrels in a series of smaller stories, all written and directed by Lina Wertmuller. In the first, he plays a small businessman whose enterprise is on the rocks; luckily, his wife is a (skillful) kleptomaniac, and he takes advantage of that fact. In the next episode, he's a carnival knife-thrower who has been planning for years to "miss" and "accidentally kill his female assistant. The third episode finds him playing a professor who uses his position to enjoy more than his share of young female companionship. In the final episode, he is a country yokel with a knack for complaining about the smallest things -- even when nothing is happening. Witty dialogue and sight gags enliven this episodic starring vehicle.