Reviews (29)

A Great Vacation
"Blame It On Rio" is like taking a great vacation of fun, sun and no inhibitions. The setting is beautiful Rio de Janeiro and the film gives an honest impression of the city...beautiful beaches, Bossa Nova flavored music, tropical climate. Michael Caine is hilarious, Joseph Bologna a perfect comical foil to Caine, Michelle Johnson sweet and innocent(?), and Demi Moore likeable and levelheaded. I saw this movie for the first time when I was about Michelle Johnson's age and when I saw the film recently, it brought back wonderful memories of that time in the 80s. The film is a not-so-implausible plot of a middle-aged man (Caine) spending a vacation in Brazil with his daughter (Moore),his best friend (Bologna) and his best friend's daughter (Johnson). Valerie Harper plays Caine's wife, who backs out of the vacation to Rio at the last minute and packs for Bahia. "Must have been the free and easy laughter in the air...must have been the moonlight on the sea..." Caine has an affair with his best friend's daughter (Johnson)and the comedy ensues. "Blame It On Rio" is just plain old fun with great scenery, great quotes (Johnson to Caine "That's not you life line, that's your heart line" and Caine's reply "Teeny little thing isn't it"), and great comedy!

Good movie to watch late at night
"Blame It On Rio" is one of my favorite films. The great scenery of Rio De Janeiro is one of the perks of watching this. It's kinda like watching a travelogue of the city that's a 24-hour carnival. The film is packed with memorable lines as well ("They looked at us, let's go talk to them,"says Victor. "They're practically nude," Matthew states. Victor's response? "Try to picture them with clothes on"). Michelle Johnson won a Razzie for her performance as Jennifer, which I didn't think was that bad. Demi Moore's performance, on the other hand, takes some getting used to. Michael Caine, always the top-rate performer, doesn't disappoint in this one. His performance is honest and well-meaning. There are one small fault in the film though: the soundtrack. I'm not talking about the bossa-nova or nightclub music, but the outdated 80s music. There is one song in the film that gets played over and over again. By the end of the film, the song will not leave your head LOL. That doesn't matter though. It doesn't take away the film's entertainment value. It is still a fun film to watch and make you laugh.

very funny and very sexy
I saw this movie when it first came out back in 1984, and it has always stuck in my mind as a very fun movie. The movie opens with two middle-aged men, both of whom are going through difficult marriages. One (Joseph Bologna) is getting a divorce and the other (Michael Caine) finds his marriage on the rocks. They travel to Rio on a vacation with their teenage daughters, but without their wives, in order to forget about their marital troubles. Because the daughters replace the wives on this vacation, it creates a vaguely incestous tension. In one of the movie's early scenes, Bologna's daughter (Michelle Johnson) and Caine's daughter (Demi Moore) are bare breasted as they walk up to their fathers on the beach. Moore seems somewhat shy as her hair mostly covers her chest, but Johnson is clearly very confident and proud of her breasts. Her father asks her to cover her breasts and she refuses. Though the direct incestous tension between father and daughter doesn't go any further than this, the sexuality definitely builds between Johnson and dad's friend Caine to the point where they are soon having an affair.

The affair creates a series of situations that are downright hilarious, and many scenes had me rolling on the floor laughing. For the guys in the audience, Michelle Johnson is definitely gorgeous and we get to--well--see a lot of her, and she seems very comfortable and happy with her nudity. Demi Moore plays a more minor role both in terms of nudity and in terms of her character. The movie is not intended to make any grand in-depth statement, and is probably not very accurate about Brazil, but if you want a light-hearted, sexy comedy it would be hard to do much better.

On a personal note, this movie was something of a rite of passage for me because it was, I believe, the first movie showing adult nudity that I ever saw on the big screen. I still thought of myself as a bit of a kid at the time, and I thought of topless and nude scenes as something that adults (i.e. people a lot older than me) did. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that Michelle Johnson was exactly the same age as me (we were both born in Sept 1965). I came to the conclusion that if an actress my age were doing topless scenes, I must have reached adulthood myself.

The movie is a hilarious comedy without considering the nude scenes--since it is a sex comedy set on and around Rio's topless beaches, the nudity tends to fit right in. And because it is set in Rio (where 'the play gets done') the viewer is allowed to relax and take a vacation for a couple of hours, even if the characters aren't always relaxed in their antics. All in all, you won't find any deep statements about the world here, but it is a really fun movie.

The DVD is too dark
I wrote a 4-star review of the VHS version of this movie on 11/22/00. Later I bought the DVD version. The DVD was much darker. Some of the night scenes were almost completely black. This was annoying and made the DVD useless to me. It made no sense to me why they did this. The VHS version is great!

Funny and sexy
"Blame it on Rio" is a cute and funny film which manages to be a wish-fulfilment fantasy for middle-aged men, and tell a good story at the same time.

Michael Cane is perfect as the man in a doubful marriage, who is hit on suddenly by his best friend's daughter, Jennifer, played by the voluptous and pretty Michelle Johnson.

Of course that is a doubtful proposition, since he is over twice her age (Michelle was only eighteen when she played this), and since he is vacationing not only with her, but with her father, who is his best friend, and with his own daughter, who is her best friend!

The story is funny and entertaining, and Jennifer is dead sexy. I find it hard to imagine resisting if she threw herself at you.

It must be said that beautiful Demi Moore is underused as Nikki, the best friend. Especially in the underdressed scenes, too little of that. I suspect she was having ego problems against Michelle's bigger bosom. This would explain why she later got a boob job, as seen in (the underrated) Striptease. Very dumb move, in my opinion. She was perfect. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Great Film, Excellent Surprise.
My girlfriend found this movie in a used film/CD store in Denver. She knew this film had been nominated for an academy award a few years ago. It was snowy and cold so we decided to stay home and watch it. It is great, really good. It gives us a shocking view of what was going on in Latin America, a story that was never told here in the US. I never heard of this episode, and the movie made me research more about it. It made me proud of our ambassador, a corageous, brave, yet vulnerable man while in captivity, and on the other hand made me ashamed to know that my country was supporting all that repression in Brazil. Besides, that Claudia Abreu chick is HOT!!! Impressive acting by Arkin and the Brazilian actors.

An intelligent and moving historical drama
Brazil, 1969. The country is under the control of an oppressive military regime. A group of idealistic students join an underground revolutionary group in protest. Out of this climate of paranoia and violence, a bold plan is conceived: a plot to kidnap the U.S. ambassador to Brazil. This true story forms the basis for the excellent film "Four Days in September," directed by Bruno Barreto.

I have seen many historical films, and this is one of the best. There are no cardboard heroes or villains in this film; there are lots of moral shades of gray. Are these students terrorists or freedom fighters? Is the ambassador an innocent victim, or an ally of oppressive forces?

Leopoldo Serran's intelligent script is based on Fernando Gabeira's book "O Que E Isso, Companhiero?" The dialogue offers thought-provoking insights into the minds of the individuals involved in these events. The cast gives universally superb performances; particularly impressive is veteran U.S. actor Alan Arkin as Ambassador Charles Elbrick. The film as a whole is well complemented by a memorable musical soundtrack. Barreto's direction is both suspenseful and sensitive. Whether you are interested in Latin American history or just enjoy a well-made drama, I highly recommend this film.

Echoes of today
Seeing this film at this moment in history is instructive. Issues of repression, coups d'etat, torture of prisoners, radical extremists - it all rings very "current." The story of Brazil's military coup was sadly ignored in this country, and in these times, we should all be watching carefully.

It is a fine and complex film, highly recommended.

A great movie in spite of some minor inaccuracies
This movie faced a lot of criticism in Brazil for the liberties it took with history. Some criticism dates back to the publication of Fernando Gabeira's book, mainly the fact that Gabeira's importance in the kidnapping is overplayed. Other survivors from the operation claim he did not write the note to the press, as the movie shows. Also, a girl did try to get information from the Ambassador's security man, but she did not spend the night with him (and those who like to spot errors may notice the fact that he calls her by her code name, René, even though she introduced herself by a different name). And one just has to read other books about those days in Brazil to realize most torturers were sick animals, not guilt-ridden human beings like the guy in the movie.

In spite of all these flaws, the movie still works admirably as a snapshot of an era. I understand it was rather easy to sell this movie to the international market because Alan Arkin is in it and the event it is based on involved the kidnapping of an American ambassador. But it would be great if people all over the world could also see another movie titled "Pra Frente Brasil". The story is fictitious but inspired by actual facts: while the 1970 World Cup is taking place and the whole Brazilian population is glued to television sets, a guy is captured by mistake and tortured to death by the police. Brazil won that World Cup, so the whole country was in a celebratory mood while the horrors of repression were happening in the underground.

Sticks with you
I saw "Four Days in September" when in came out in U.S. theaters in 1999. It has stuck with me since then, mostly because of Alan Arkin's fabulous performance as Ambassador Charles Embrick. But, also, because of the way the film brings to light for its audience what life was like in Brazil during the miltary dictatorship of 1969 - 1979. And, because of its very understated manner of showing you how this small, underground group of anti-regimists coalesced, got its training, and put its thoughts into actions. It all feels very real. No Hollywood-ization here.

If you want an entertaining *and* eductional evening, rent or buy "Four Days in September." You won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Depressing
I bought this DVD because of its reviews and both my husband and I thought it was depressing. This movie was well done, but wasn't worth the trauma it inflicted.

It's Excellent, but too short.
I love this movie, ... The only shortcoming is: It's a bit short, only 72 min...Maybe it's because their high evaluations impressed me so deeply and give me some anticipation that I didn't think the film is short.
...I bought the DVD without a hesitation because "Midnight" is also directed by Walter Salles and all reviewers gave the movie their highest evaluation.
Yes, you will not feel disappointed about movies directed by Walter Salles. It's very hard for you to guess what will happen next in the movie. The movie is full of metaphors of the meaning of life... "Midnight" tells us that no matter how hard we struggled, we are not able to get rid of the shadow of paradoxy and desperation for future. It's quite interesting that the same director will express such different interpretations of life in his works.
Both "Central Station" and "Midnight" give me the feeling of heartache when I am seeing them. How I wish the story will never end and how I love such kind of soft hearache...

A brilliant masterpiece worth adding to your DVD collection
For those who have seen "Central Station", which won many awards throughout the world (including the USA), was nominated for the Oscar 2000 (best actress and best foreign film), and was directed by the same Walter Salles Jr - this other film, "Midnight", has little in common with "Central Station" - other than being very well made in terms of script, acting and photography. What is amazing is that "Midnight" is even better than "Central Station"!!! Many times better, in my view. It shows a different side of life in Brazil, a more lively, more violent one - and it grips the viewer like a magnet. And it's a slap on the face, that's for sure!!! To know more about "Midnight", please read the excellent review by Rebecca Calvetti, below. But remember: this is a masterpiece - and it's a very impactful one at that, even more so than "Central Station". It's definitely worth having on DVD.

Has all the subtlety and beauty of a skipped heartbeat....
.....And I mean that in a good way. *winks*

This film, this masterpiece, induced palpitations in me, butterflies in the stomach, in the throat, and in the heart. I can honestly say this is one of my favorite movies. Perhaps the favorite movie, at that.

It begins around 24 hours before January 1, 2000, set in the lives of two, three people, one of whom will not live to see the new millenium's dawning. The other two, a man, Joao, who has just escaped from prison, and a woman, Maria, whose lover has just abandoned her, will find themselves torn about and joined together and once more torn apart in an emotional powerhouse of a movie about death, love, hope, and desperation in a Brave New World not nearly as brave or new as we might think, or wish, it to be.

I remember when I saw it for the first time. Walking out of the theatre into the uncertainty of the night, I felt like I had died, had been reborn, and then had died again. It was an emotionally harrowing expirience, and yet I do not regret seeing it. And I recommend it to all of you, all of you children of this second Millenium.

If there ever was a must see, this is it.

Midnight in Rio
This film was though as a project of the channel of arts, it is shared by Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles (Central Station of Brazil) and it's a potentially intense movie with very well structured script. Three stories grow with parallelism, three people are expecting the eve of the next century in Rio. I loved Luis Vanconscelos in this movie. Besides, I think this movie has received some bitterness of others stories of jail in Brazilian cinema such as Pixote and The kiss of the spider woman. Enigmatic, almost apocalyptic!! ... Read more