The Woman in Red

Dir: Gene Wilder

1984

****

In my eyes Gene Wilder could do no wrong, even though (and I'm going to be brutally honest here) his 1984 remake of Yves Robert's 1976 comedy Pardon Mon Affaire isn't really that good. I still love it but I do have my issues with it. Firstly Gene Wilder was never going to be a convincing person to play a man entering into an off the cuff affair. His scenes whereby he pretends to his wife he's doing something else, rather than meeting with 'The Lady in Red', are hilarious but they're always slightly at odds with the behaviour of his character in the rest of the film. Kelly Le Brock was about the sexiest woman alive during the 80s which helped heaps in convincing he could stray but his interaction with his wife (played by Judith Ivey) was just too good to think he would. Maybe that makes the film more of a success in a way but the whole scenario doesn't particularly sit well or work in my opinion. The locker room comradery doesn't quite suit Wilder either, or Charles Grodin for that matter but then that sets up a twist in the end, an unnecessary twist I would say though, again it just doesn't really work in my opinion. It's the age old French comedy translated into American, it's mostly always disjointed and strange but The Lady in Red is the rare example of it somehow working. It's all down to the performances, the brilliant Wilder and Grodin and the seductive Le Brock and the hilarious Gilda Radner who is wonderful in her small supporting role. The performances are where the film's real charm lies. The comedy timing is also exceptional, Wilder's manic role-plays and Grodin's quick saves in particular and then there is a wonderful intro and in conclusion narration by Wilder that really glues the film together. I love the last scene on the edge of the building but for me, The Lady in Red's best scene is also one of the best comedy moments of all time. It's comes a little out of the blue as Wilder and his friends try and cheer up a friend of theirs. Grodin's character enters a fancy restaurant and pretends he's blind. He is then left by a friend and pretends to panic, knocking everything over and causing havoc for the staff and diners. It's timed perfectly. Putting the fact that it is four over privileged, relatively wealthy grown men causing huge amounts of criminal damage with undeserving victims while making fun of the blind community, it's very funny indeed. The part where they leave the restaurant and Grodin, weaving his white stick in the air, gets in the car and drives off is irresistibly funny, I don't care who you are. It's not funny but it is. Completely flawed, very silly, a bit nasty at times but so very charming. An 80s classic.