Sofia Loren's Marriage Italian Style Review

Sofia Loren is an ageless beauty most known for her acting roles in the Twentieth Century. She made a name for herself in her native country Italy before becoming a seductive screen icon in American cinema. However, she is most acknowledged for her beauty and sex appeal while receiving little recognition for her theatrical prowess.

In the 1960s the most notable screen darlings were: Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Sofia Loren. They each had in common that they were not American made. Although Sofia Loren had already developed her craft in a variety of films in Italy, she was not well known to American audiences until Two Women in 1960, which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

By 1964, Sofia Loren was an international success, who showed great range in comedy and dramatic films, many of which costarred fellow Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni. When Marriage Italian Style was released, it received positive reception from critics and moviegoers and was the second highest grossing film Italy that year.

In this film, Loren plays a sex worker who starts a long-term relationship with one of her customers who happens to be a wealthy bachelor played by Marcello Mastroianni. Dominico Soriano (Mastroianni) meets Filumena Marturano (Loren) one afternoon and becomes instantly smitten with her. He knows what she does for a living but is unaware of another title she holds. Throughout the years he keeps her on a leash, not letting her move on to real love with a proper suitor, while also keeping her a secret from his family and friends because he deems her "not wife material".

This is where the comedy and drama marry, forming a fanciful union. Loren is a quick-witted woman delivering sassiness at the right time. Mastroianni knows how to charm while stringing a woman along. The two make a dynamic duo in this tale of two people tugging and pulling their way to the altar.