Who was Adelina Tattilo? She wore many hats, including those of a journalist, a publisher, and a film producer. Most importantly, she sent tremors across Italy through Playmen, a magazine featuring pictures of nude women. Sure, the pages were also filled with articles on fashion, sport, consumer goods, and public figures, but Mrs Playmen, directed by Riccardo Donna, mainly focuses on the sexual aspect. It also doesn't tell you that Tattilo was a film producer. This almost single-minded obsession with one dimension of the magazine seems to be an intentional choice. Donna wants to show you how terribly close-minded most people were during a period of religious conservatism in Italy. He also, in the process, reveals that nothing much has changed in 2025. A woman, in Mrs Playmen, is sexually assaulted, and the police ask her what she was wearing and why she was walking alone at night. She is also humiliated in the courtroom by both the judge and a lawyer, though what's disturbing is that her family members propose that she marry her rapist. I say "disturbing," but a scenario like this is, unfortunately, still a reality. The society might have moved on to new clothes and the latest technology. Its mind, however, continues to be largely regressive, mainly due to the alarming rise of right-wing attitudes and policies.
Sex, unsurprisingly, remains an offensive topic. Men want it. Women want it. Yet, few people are willing to openly talk about it. Many parents don't mind exposing their kids to violent video games or movies, but will act like the Indian Censor Board when it comes to sex or even a kiss. Adelina (Carolina Crescentini) starts leading Playmen during such an orthodox time. She also comes on board because her husband, Saro Balsamo (Francesco Colella), packs his bags and leaves. Pornography, during those years in Italy, was a crime. Saro had already been arrested multiple times by the police. Now, thanks to a warrant issued in his name, he flees Rome and moves with a woman named Consuelo (Elena Sotgiu) to another place. Adelina, obviously, isn't pleased. Nonetheless, once she immerses herself in the world of Playmen, she becomes as busy as a bee. So busy, in fact, that she doesn't think about Saro, unless she must talk to him about certain business-related things. Under Adelina's command, Playmen becomes more provocative, more daring. The most significant change that she brings is that she starts catering to women and their needs. Moreover, she creates a healthy work environment where all staff members are treated like family. She encourages everyone to contribute their creative ideas to the magazine.
Mrs Playmen really admires Adelina — it's almost worshipful of her spirit. And while someone like her definitely deserves credit for her work, her ambitions, and her ability to take risks, the show itself feels pretty lazy, tame, and unchallenging. For a series about sexual liberation, the sex scenes are bland and rigid. They have a softcore quality, which might be Donna's way of hat-tipping the magazine's own reputation of featuring softcore nude images, but the scenes lack sensuality. The act itself is brief, mechanical, and unstimulating. Donna doesn't film the bodies with an erotic eye. If he has a gaze, it's incredibly impersonal and unexciting. There is some spark, some inspiration in the scene where a gigolo is photographed by Poggi (Giuseppe Maggio). The camera feasts on his tight muscles tantalizingly, and for a few seconds, Mrs Playmen gives a carnal force to nudity. Such affection for skin is absent from other moments in the series. What we get in its place is a problem–solution approach to storytelling, which becomes dull very quickly. Adelina encounters obstacles like police raids, wrong accusations, plagiarism cases, paper problems, and even her own husband (it's one battle after another), and all of them are resolved in a neat, tidy manner. There is no sweat, no exertion. Issues surface only to be brushed aside by Adelina's determination and heroic, victorious music. We never feel the effort or energy that must have gone into crossing these hurdles for the sake of the magazine. Donna tells the story at a brisk pace, giving the impression of cramming everything into a tight space for easy consumption. This "cramming" reduces the story to mere highlights. Mrs Playmen could merely be a shrine to the woman who burned Italy with scandals and naked bodies. That shrine, though, is simply a repetitive showreel.
Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times