Eva (Valentine Demy) is an ex-prostitute and rich widow living in a huge countryside house. Eager for some company, she takes in a series of young lovers to fulfil her desires and also help around the place. Meanwhile, Eva has purchased a red sofa that once sat in a brothel and upon which she has ‘accommodated’ many men (and women) over the years.
Ah, to be a young man with all the world to explore. You may not have a penny in your pocket, but sooner or later your looks and charm will snag you a wealthy, sex-starved older woman to satisfy your every desire and let you crash at her luxurious pad. At least, that seems to be the case in this curious-but-tedious Italian sex drama... it certainly wasn’t when I was a starving student. Anyway, the lucky lads in question – Camillo, Sam and Giancomo – are more than happy to set up home with Eva and even start their own flower-growing business in her vast garden. Every evening they sit around the red sofa while Eva tells them stories of her saucy past as a high-price whore.
This has to be one of the least dramatic ‘dramas’ I’ve ever seen – it just ambles along, and every moment that you think is going to spark some conflict or tension just fizzles out. There’s no sinister agenda to Eva taking the boys in – she just fancies some company. None of them are jealous that they have to share Eva – in fact they get on famously. Their flower enterprise is a roaring success. Even Eva’s stories about her previous life in the brothel are completely pointless – we see her have sex with an old guy, a naive girl and demented English virgin, but with no relevance to anything else. The only drama occurs right near the end when Eva decides she needs an older man in her life and hooks up with an antiques dealer – the three lads feel threatened and hatch some half-arsed plot to put a stop to this relationship. But even this is abandoned almost as soon as they’ve thought of it.
The film is also resolutely unsexy – Eva’s three houseguests are all much prettier than she is, and they seem far more interested in each other’s company than hers. On the plus side, and in keeping with other spaghetti smut of the period, it’s sumptuously filmed and the countryside looks gorgeous. Dirty Love II is essential viewing for any young men planning an Italian road trip next summer – everyone else should steer well clear.
