Ultimo Tango a Zagarol (1973) Reviews

Franco Franchi, best known as half of the comedy duo Franco and Ciccio, stars with cult favorite Martine Beswicke in this crude parody of Bernardo Bertolucci's Ultimo Tango a Parigi. In contrast to the original's brutish Brando, Franchi's character is constantly dominated by the aggressive Beswicke and every other woman in his life, including his cruel wife (Gina Rovere) and a mentally unbalanced filmmaker (Franca Valeri) obviously modeled on Lina Wertmuller. Beswicke steals the show in a predatory variant on Maria Schneider's role, and brings a touch of class to a generally lowbrow production. The humor is primarily of the cheap bathroom variety, as subtlety has never been director Nando Cicero's strong point, but there are some genuine laughs for the tolerant. The English title of the film is Last Tango in Zagarol. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi