Verdict
Summary
Zero stars for lack of plot or a compelling story, but five stars for featuring the stunning Mayarchuk in all her God-given glory (and plenty of her) in a short 90 minute running time, Cheeky! is thinner than a vanilla wafer and about as nourishing as one, but if that’s all you need to get by, then it’s a tasty treat. Cult Epics has just released a premium 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray combo pack (and also a single-disc Blu-ray edition) of Cheeky! as part of their Tinto Brass series, and the film is so clean and sharp looking that I doubt the film has never looked or sounded better. The film comes with some archival features, as well as a new commentary, and fans of Brass will enjoy adding this one to their collection.
Plot:
A young Italian woman vacations in London and has multiple affairs while her boyfriend pines for her.
Review:
Carla (Ukrainian Yuliya Mayarchuk) is a gorgeous young Venetian woman who goes to London to scout out an apartment for her and her boyfriend Matteo (Jarno Berardi), a milquetoast who pines after her the longer she’s away. After a month passes, Matteo begins wondering what’s taking so long and why Carla doesn’t call as frequently. The answer isn’t complicated: Carla, being a total knockout and playfully indecent in public, is engaging in multiple affairs and everywhere she goes she’s molested, leered at, and assaulted. It’s not like it bothers her, either: She giggles, she seems to enjoy it most of the time, and when she takes an invitation to an orgy, she gets locked in a bathroom with a horny guy who is only too delighted to be the first to give her her first anal sex experience. At first, she enjoys it, but then she has a bout of remorse. But it’s not the sort of remorse to give her any amount of trauma because she goes home with a lesbian and has sex with her too. The next morning, Matteo shows up at her place and sees what’s become of Carla: She not only answers the door in the nude (which could be a sign of radical changes in his hometown girl), but she’s got company in the woman who spent the night with her. Matteo is stunned. Is his woman cheating on him? The answer is obvious, but will he care enough to dump this gorgeous girl … or will he be willing to forgive and forget?
From sex-and-ass-positive filmmaker Tinto Brass, Cheeky! doesn’t say much about anything other than simply allowing his camera to capture a woman in the prime of her young beauty. The plot? What plot? The film is basically an adult comic strip, well-drawn and colored, but with no real spirit or soul. It serves a purpose, I suppose, especially for straight men who can be comfortable watching a parade of casual and playful nudity without feeling any shame about it, but Brass’s sometimes leery and voyeuristic style might irritate you if you’re unprepared for how juvenile and crass he can be. Zero stars for lack of plot or a compelling story, but five stars for featuring the stunning Mayarchuk in all her God-given glory (and plenty of her) in a short 90 minute running time, Cheeky! is thinner than a vanilla wafer and about as nourishing as one, but if that’s all you need to get by, then it’s a tasty treat.
Cult Epics has just released a premium 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray combo pack (and also a single-disc Blu-ray edition) of Cheeky! as part of their Tinto Brass series, and the film is so clean and sharp looking that I doubt the film has never looked or sounded better. The film comes with some archival features, as well as a new commentary, and fans of Brass will enjoy adding this one to their collection.
Bonus Materials
- 4K UHD BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- New 4K Transfer (from the original negative) & Restoration + HDR
- New DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo/5.1 Surround Italian & English
- New Audio Commentary by Eugenio Ercolani & Nathaniel Thompson
- New 4K Theatrical Trailers
- BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
- New 4K Transfer (from the original negative) & Restoration
- New DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo/5.1 Surround English & Italian
- New Audio Commentary by Eugenio Ercolani & Nathaniel Thompson
- New Interview with cinematographer Massimo Di Venanzo (2024)
- New Isolated Score by Pino Donaggio
- Backstage with Tinto Brass (2000)
- Theatrical Trailers
- Photo Gallery
- Double-sided sleeve with original uncensored Italian poster art
- 20-Page illustrated booklet with liner notes by Eugenio Ercolani and Domenico Monetti
- Slipcase
- 4K UHD Exclusive first pressing: 4x Repro Italian Lobby Card prints
