The Fabulous Mrs Fairytale
24 Apr 2020. - photos courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures

What to make of Fairytale, a bizarre Italian movie about a 1950s perfect American housewife? It features a subtle performance by Italian actor Filippo TImi, who is best known for playing Benito Mussolini in the movie Vincere. The set, or perhaps its a location, is an astonishing house interior, with red carpets, floral prints, rounded archways, a spiral staircase, turquoise chairs, a full-size sculpture of a baboon, a silver tinsel Christmas tree, and an American flag hanging outside the window. Mrs Fairytale lives with a stuffed poodle named Lady, whom she adores. She spends her days receiving visitors, like her best friend Emerald, her dour old mother, and the Stewart triplets: her neighbour Ted, her sexy dance instructor Tim, and her plumber Glenn. Those last three roles are all played by the same totally hot actor, Luca Santagostino. 

It was based on a stage play written by Timi and the film version was directed by his husband. Timi’s  performance is an excellent one, fairly nuanced and full of pathos, although like Patrick Swayze in To Wong Foo, no amount of make-up can hide the maleness of his face. There are some brilliant outfits and a pair of shoes that defy description. The film is fairly good looking, with the kind of eye-popping colour Almodovar is noted for, and the set is beautifully dressed with gorgeous kitsch.

Yes, it is pure camp, but not utterly frivolous. It’s more like the foreign-language version of American camp. The narrative ultimately hinges on a murder plot, so it is willing to get dark. Even weirder, the protagonist seems to switch genders mid-plot because of a UFO. Its like Polyester directed by Ingmar Bergman. It is in its own way totally unique. Released in Italy as Favola, I think if it were shot in English rather than Italian it would probably be a big hit in North America. Worth seeing even if you hate subtitles.