THE SALT OF LIFE – The Review

THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH was the first major Hollywood film to address the wandering eye ( and libido ) of long time, staid husbands. The subject was explored in greater depth in the 60’s with the anthology A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN and in the 80’s with THE WOMAN IN RED ( except Gene Wilder just fixated on Kelly LeBrock as the title character ). As it turns out RED is based on a European film where the rules of marriage are quite a bit looser than in the good ole’ USA. And they’ve been doing many more films across the pond about hubbys gettin’ frisky over the years. For the new film THE SALT OF LIFE, we get a chance to see Italy’s take on love and marriage ( and a little something on the side ).

SALT tells the story of Gianni ( writer/ director Gianni Di Gregorio ), a schlubby sixty-something married father who’s sure that he’s missing out on all the action. He’s retired, collecting a pension, and sharing a spacious apartment in Rome with his still working wife, college age daughter, and her boyfriend ( who seems to always be staying over ). After fixing breakfast for his wife, Gianni spends much of his day dashing to the home of his frail, aging momma. But , prodded by his lawyer buddy Alfonso, Gianni’s on a quest to score. His mamma’s luscious live-in nurse is a possibility. How about his downstairs neighbor, a party girl with an enormous St, Bernard ( Gianni takes the beast for long walks in the park ) ? But then there’s the overly friendly, now grown-up daughter of one of his mamma’s poker pals. Maybe he should rekindle the passion with an old flame from years past. At one point, Alfonso enlists Gianni as his ‘ wing man ‘ when two blonde bombshell sisters arrive at his office. Later Alfonso gives Gianni a male performance pill along with confusing directions to a brothel ( can he arrives before the effects wear off? ). After his many calamities, will he ever succeed?

This is a gentle character study that has a timeless quality. It’s not gut-busting hilarious, but Gianni’s hapless attempts should make you smile ( or perhaps wince in recognition ). It’s hard to stay angry at him for his wanderlust due to the sprightly performance of Di Gregorio. He gets terrific support from the actors playing his friends and family and particularly the bevy of beautiful actresses that cross his path. The cast along with the beautiful Rome location work makes THE SALT OF LIFE a slighty spicy look at a retiree who’s still a kid ( maybe a horny teenager ) at heart.

Overall Rating: 3.5 Out of 5 Stars