Blame It on Rio

Fun romcom with spectacular locations but too, um, sleazy

Two well-to-do Americans from the big city are having marital problems. So they take their 18 years-old daughters to Rio de Janeiro to refresh. The liberal one (Joseph Bologna) doesn’t waste time in finding a dubious mate for his carnal pleasures while the conservative one (Michael Caine) makes the mistake of being with the daughter of the other on the beach wherein she confesses her crush (Michelle Johnson). Nothing good can come from this.

“Blame It on Rio” (1984) is effectively quirky amusement with can’t-beat-’em locations. The best comparison would be “10” from five years earlier, but this isn’t as good all things considered. There’s a great message on forgiveness at the end, but there’s a little too much sleaze for my tastes. For instance, Michelle Johnson was five months shy of being 18 during shooting, yet she’s shown totally nude at one point. Why? The movie suggests that the hedonistic spirit of Rio sets loose one’s carnal passions.

Also on the feminine front are Demi Moore as the other daughter (she was 20 during shooting); and Valerie Harper as the wife of Caine’s character. Valerie still looked great at 44 during filming.

The movie runs 1 hour, 40 minutes, and was shot in Rio de Janeiro.

GRADE: C