At first glance it would appear that the Academy Award nominated Alfie (Gilbert, 1966) has only its star Michael Caine in common with the little seen Blame it on Rio (Donen, 1984). But I think a case can be made that the two have much in common, primarily that they examine and explore the sexual mores and climates of the respective times in which they were made.
Alfie tells the story of an unfeeling and heartless playboy. Set in the backdrop of an emerging sexual revolution, Alfie routinely conducts affairs with married women, gets women pregnant, helps them get abortions, abandons the woman who does have his child and fails exceedingly at every relationship. This is a shocking narrative in that it explodes all the myths and conventions that classical film deal with when it pertains to marriage and the family. Classical Hollywood was bound very strictly by the PCA and all of these themes would be strictly taboo. Still, the portrayal of such a cold and unfeeling protagonist is remarkable in that even though his actions are reprehensible, Caine plays him with such panache and style that the audience eventually pulls for him to make it through his problems.
In Blame it on Rio Caine again plays a protagonist that falls short in the morality department yet seemingly pulls his audience onto his side. Here Caine plays Matthew, a miserably married middle aged man on vacation with is best friend, his daughter and his friends daughter in the sexually charged climate of Rio. Quickly Caine is having an affair with is friends daughter, breaking sexual taboos of sleeping with a much younger woman and a friends daughter. More of a comedy than Alfie, everything quickly unravels for all involved until everything gets righted by the films end.
Both films brilliantly portray the sexual mores of their respective times and settings. Alfie captures the burgeoning sexual revolution with its standards of free love and an explosion of premarital sex. Rio captures the essence of that sexually charged city perfectly and also shows how far the sexual revolution has progressed in twenty short years. One scene particularly emphasizes this as Matthew and Victor (Joseph Bologna) cruise the beach and are mesmerized with the ongoing display of nudity and sexuality. That Matthew is sexually repressed makes the dichotomy of the situation all the more poignant.
Michael Caine needs to be commended for his amazing ability as an actor. He plays two vastly different roles, both to perfection. In one he plays heartless and cold and the other he switches gears completely and is hopelessly lost and confused. In Alfie he seemingly has total control and in Rio he doesn't. Yet is his genius in these roles that actually the opposite is true. Alfie has no control and doesn't realize it. Matthew controls his situation and doesn't realize it. It also helps that in both films he breaks the fourth wall repeatedly, endearing himself to the audience and giving the audience the feeling of being in the know. This also allows the audience to further identify with his characters and accept the explosion of sexual standards that both films serve to explode.
The films are both good and to me personally I love Blame it on Rio. Its just one of those films that I can watch anytime it is on. Of course that may have a lot to do with the beautiful Michele Johnson, but it is a great film. Also the last by the steady Stanley Donen, the helmsman of Singing in the Rain (along with Gene Kelly).
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