The ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' (, lit. "

sex comedy Sexual comedy (also known as, sex comedy and erotic comedy) is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sexual comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary wor ...

Italian style"), also known as ''commedia scollacciata'' ("low-cut comedy") or ''commedia erotica all'italiana'', is a subgenre of the Italian ''

commedia all'italiana ''Commedia all'italiana'' () or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mario Monicelli's ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' in 1958 ...

film genre A film genre is a Genre, stylistic or thematic category for Film, motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative , narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Drawing heavily from the theories ...

Style

''Commedia sexy'' is characterized typically by both abundant female nudity and comedy, and by the minimal weight given to social criticism that was the basic ingredient of the main ''commedia all'italiana'' genre. Stories are often set in affluent environments such as wealthy households. It is closely connected to the

sexual revolution The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the late 1950s to the early 1 ...

, and it was something extremely new and innovative for that period. For the first time, films with female nudity could be watched at the cinema. Pornography and scenes of explicit sex were still forbidden in Italian cinemas, but partial nudity was somewhat tolerated. The genre has been described as a cross between bawdy comedy and humorous

erotic film Sexual content has been found in films since the early days of the industry, and the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, especially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or sugges ...

with ample

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

elements which follows more or less clichéd storylines.

History

Roots

This subgenre has its roots in several different series of films. The '' mondo film'' genre popularized nudity, shifting the limits of what could be shown in the Italian cinema. A series of successful ''

'' of the sixties (such as

Pietro Germi Pietro Germi (; 14 September 1914 – 5 December 1974) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his development of the Italian neorealism, neorealist and genres. His 1961 film ''Divorce Italian Style'' earned him a Ac ...

's '' Signore & Signori'' (1966) and

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy, and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an ...

's '' Vedo nudo'' (1969)) focused on Italian hypocrisy and shame about sexual taboos, popularizing sex-based plots.

Main era

The ''commedia sexy'' was very successful commercially between the 1970s and early 1980s, although it was generally panned by critics (with a few exceptions such as several comedies starring Lando Buzzanca), and then declined when female nudity became common in Italian mainstream cinema, television and magazines, and when

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, adult films, blue films, sexually explicit films, or 18+ films, are films that represent Human sexual activity, sexually WIKT:explicit, explicit subject matter in order to sexual arousal, arouse, fasci ...

s became more widely available.

The decamerotici (1971–1975)

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

's ''Trilogy of Life'' (consisting of ''

The Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human Comedy (drama), comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy, Comedy'' "''D ...

'' (1971), ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse (poetry), verse, as part of a fictional storytellin ...

'' (1972) and ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'' (1974), and inspired by the tales of

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so ...

's ''

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's ''Comedy'' "''Divine''"), is a collection of ...

'',

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's ''

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

'' and the ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

'') contained nudity and sex-based plots. However, Pasolini's ''Trilogy of Life'' is not an example of ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' because, despite its erotic content, it is rooted in literary adaptation and ideological critique rather than the commercialized, formulaic humor and titillation typical of the ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' genre. That being said, Pasolini’s trilogy did inspire the ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' indirectly, as its success helped popularize erotic themes and period settings, which commercial filmmakers then imitated and exaggerated in a more vulgar, comedic, and less intellectual style typical of the genre. The success of these films and the relaxation of Italian censors, beginning from the early 1970s, paved the way for dozens of soft-core productions set in medieval or Renaissance times, collectively known as ''decamerotici'' (singular: ''decamerotico''; alternative terms include ''decameronico'' and ''decamerone'', as well as ''boccaccesco).'' The wave of ''decamerotici'' lasted from 1971 (starting with ''

In Love, Every Pleasure Has Its Pain ''In Love, Every Pleasure Has Its Pain'' () is a 1971 commedia all'italiana film directed by Gianfranco De Bosio. It is based on the comedy play ''La Betia'' by Angelo Beolco. Cast * Nino Manfredi: Nale * Rosanna Schiaffino: Betìa *Ljubi ...

'') until the end of 1975, with an early peak in 1972. In total, about 50 ''decamerotici'' were produced.

Subgenres

Other very popular subgenres () of the ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' included high school (), military (), hospital (), police () and family comedies ().

Actors

The ''commedia sexy'' launched the careers of several actresses, including

Edwige Fenech Edwige Fenech (, ; born 24 December 1948) is a French-Italian actress and film producer. She is mostly known as the star of a series of ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' and ''giallo'' films released predominantly through her 20 year career in the ...

, commonly considered the quintessential star of the genre; María Baxa and Gloria Guida, the staple lead actress of

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

films and the popular La liceale series in the mid-1970s; and Nadia Cassini who was promoted as a successor to Fenech in the late 1970s. Many actresses who had gained earlier success in other genres moved to ''commedia sexy'' and became well known within the genre, such as Femi Benussi in the mid-1970s and Barbara Bouchet in the late 1970s. The

glamour models Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in attractive poses ranging from fully clothed to nude, and often erotic. Photographers use a combination of cosmetics, lighting and airbrushing techniques to prod ...

Anna Maria Rizzoli and Carmen Russo also followed this route in the early 1980s, a period when the genre was starting to fade in popularity. The genre is also identified with a number of prominent male comedians and actors, including Lando Buzzanca,

Lino Banfi Lino Banfi (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian actor and screenwriter. Since 1960 he has appeared in more than 100 films. Biography Banfi was born in the Apulian city of Andria, and at the age of three he moved to Canosa di P ...

, Carlo Giuffrè, Pippo Franco,

Alvaro Vitali Alvaro Vitali (; born 3 February 1950) is an Italian actor. He was an electrician until he was discovered by Federico Fellini and played a small part in ''Satyricon'' (1969), which led to other roles, notably in the movie '' Amarcord'' (1973 ...

, and Renzo Montagnani.