Story of the pursuit of infidelity stuck in another era.
Some movies are iconic for a singular visual image. Such is The Woman in Red, stuck in film’s collective memory for Kelly LeBrock’s unforgettable dance over an overactive air vent. Unfortunately, it’s all downhill from there.
Directed by and starring the brilliant Gene Wilder, The Woman in Red captures a time when sexual mores were as crude as the clothing and hairstyles of the day. Featuring a slew of notable actors from the ‘80s, the film explores the chaos of infidelity from the perspective of a smitten and stupid man.
Wilder plays Teddy, who spots LeBrock’s Charlotte doing her thing on the way into the office. He’s immediately on the chase even though he has a wife, Didi (Judith Ivey), at home. Accompanied by his friends Buddy (Charles Grodin), Mikey (Michael Huddleston), and Joey (Joseph Bologna), he sets off on a bewildering dance of seduction and ridiculousness.
The men are, to a tee, walking testosterone repositories, most likely drenched in Polo cologne. Joey gets caught cheating early on and serves as a warning to Teddy, but not a strong enough one evidently. By movie’s end, he and Charlotte are in bed together, ready to consummate their lust for each other.
Here the movie redeems itself. Not only does Charlotte have a significant other who shows up (an airline pilot, no less), but Teddy ends up out on the ledge, seemingly set on suicide, according to the gathered masses below. It’s here that he comes to regret his decision and decides to give up this foolishness for good.
The button comes in the form of a last second glance from Teddy to a beautiful reporter on the ground as he leaps to be caught by a group of firemen. He can’t help but think what it would be like to bed this newest apple of his eye. It’s a brilliant double turnaround in the story’s waning moments.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray features a commentary by film historian Jim Hemphill which puts much of the movie’s anachronistic behavior in perspective. He gives a great accounting of not only the making of the film, but its place in the careers of all the major players.
A movie like this couldn’t be made today, and rightly so. The men are so boorish, and the women (really woman in LeBrock) are so objectified that the entire affair would be calcified from the start. As it is, Wilder is as engaging as ever, and the backdrop of San Francisco makes for a nice place to spend a little time. Featuring a soundtrack by Stevie Wonder, The Woman in Red is best enjoyed as a time capsule to an era that will (hopefully) never return.
