Carla (Yuliya Mayarchuk) is out looking for an apartment to rent in London with her boyfriend Matteo (Jarno Berardi). She meets a sexy real estate agent named Moira (Francesca Nunzi) who is willing to rent Carla an apartment in exchange for certain…favors… Meanwhile Matteo discovers some old letters and pictures that Carla had kept from an old boyfriend which sends Matteo into a jealousy spiral. When he expresses his anger at Carla, he ends up driving her into a debauched romp. Will their relationship survive?
This latest in Cult Epic’s string of UHD releases of Tinto Brass sex comedies is in many ways more of the same. Tinto Brass once again proves himself to be a director with a flair for bright, exuberant cinematography reminiscent at times of the colorful world of Umbrellas of Cherbourg while delivering uncomfortably clinical close-ups of genitalia that feel more like the extreme zooms of a Jess Franco film (although Tinto honestly has a firmer grasp on framing than Franco in general). Yuliya Mayarchuk as the flighty Carla is as beautiful and charming a leading lady as any in a Tinto Brass film and is certainly not ashamed of showing off her assets. In fact, she may actually be naked more than clothed in this movie. I didn’t exactly time it down to the minute or anything, but let’s just say she would be perfectly comfortable in a nudist colony. As you imagine, prudes may find the near-hardcore level sex scenes to be a dealbreaker, but if you have seen the Brassian celebrations of the female form before, then nothing here will be too overtly offensive. In something of a departure from the more innocent romp of Frivolous Lola, the tone of Cheeky! is more clued in by the original Italian title Tra(sgre)dire. In Italian, trasgredire means to transgress while Tradire (without the sgre in parentheses in the title) means to betray. And Cheeky! does indeed fixate on the concepts of transgression and betrayal, one representing the other. The primary character arc of the film is not Carla’s but Matteo’s who grows to overcome his jealousy and embrace his beloved’s loose, bed hopping ways. “Swear that you will always lie to me,” he says eventually. He doesn’t need Carla to be faithful. He just needs to delude himself into believing it. This is a far cry from the benign situation that the lovers in Frivolous Lola found themselves in.
Like Cult Epic’s previous Tinto Brass releases, the image quality for Cheeky! is stunning, utilizing Brass’ bright color palette and measured framing to the fullest. These releases continue to be some of the finest-looking discs that I come across. On the audio front we have both a 2.0 stereo and a 5.1 surround track in English and Italian, all of which come across clean with no noticeable distortion. The 5.1 track does have a bit more of a sense of immersion, but if you don’t have a fancy audio system, the 2.0 track sounds just fine. One thing to note though, if you are even remotely put off by English dubs, avoid this one like the plague. It’s comically terrible at times. Cult Epics has given us several nice extras to dive into here. First we have an audio commentary with film scholars Eugenio Ercolani and Nathaniel Thompson, and it’s a very good one for giving lots of information about the film and its place in the Tinto Brassiverse. We also get a “Backstage with Tinto Brass” featurette with Brass discussing his approach to making an erotic film interspersed with behind-the-scenes clips as well as an interview with cinematographer Massimo de Venanzo and the isolated score (a nice extra I rarely seen anymore since Twilight Time’s heyday). In addition with get a nice physical booklet that includes an essay by Eugenio Ercolani and Domenico Monetti as well as 4 lobby cards reproductions.
If you have been following Cult Epics previous 4K UHD Tinto Brass releases, then Cheeky! will be a no-brainer for you. With its frothy, sexy content and Brass’ stylish lensing, anyone looking for a an engaging erotic comedy that delivers the goods should look no further.