"Blame it on Rio" is a slightly decent if haphazard comedy of manners, improved greatly by the presence of Michael Caine as a 43-year-old man who is having an "allegedly" tough time keeping his hands off of a 17-year-old girl. That girl would be Michelle Johnson, a former model and sunshine-and-smiles type with an upbeat sense of herself. She is perfect for her role, regardless of the uneasy factor of an older man having sex with a girl that hasn't graduated high school yet.
The uneasiness is projected throughout this silly movie. Jennifer is the girl madly in love with Caine's Matthew, a married man working in Sao Paulo along with his colleague, Victor (Joseph Bologna). They go on vacation to Rio and through some convoluted, senseless scenes, Matthew's wife (Valerie Harper), decides to go to Bahrin instead. So she trusts her husband to go to Rio? Anyways, Matthew and Victor, along with his two daughters (the aforementioned Johnson as Jennifer and a young Demi Moore) go to Rio. Geez, what could possibly go wrong.
A wedding on the beach leads to a sultry and very naked Jennifer coming on to Matthew and they both make love on the beach. Then she keeps wanting him, and Victor has no idea that his own daughter is bonking his best friend. How can he not know? Even Demi Moore knows and the windows to this villa are always open for that distinct Brazilian breeze where conversations can be heard, how can Victor not know or figure it out? If the tryst had happened in other places, this might be more believable. Case in point: Jennifer in one scene arrives for breakfast on the patio with a sliver of shaving cream on her face. Victor notices it and asks her what that is and she says, "Oh, it is whipped cream!" Moments later, Matthew arrives for breakfast with a sliver of shaving cream on his face and Victor doesn't notice. Say what?
Caine made me smile with his attempts to hide his involvement with Jennifer, especially when Victor reads Jennifer's diary and Matthew blurts out, " I can explain!" Caine makes all the other actors look good, especially Michelle Johnson and he's able to bring the best out of all them. The movie is frequently funny despite the situation which is never played for sleaze yet still makes one uneasy. But nothing in "Blame it on Rio" is remotely believable and a rather convoluted last act involving Jennifer's mental condition and its resolution made me almost give up on the movie. Not the worst film Caine ever made but not one of his more superlative efforts either.
