This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"The Salt of Life" is one of the rare films about middle-aged sexuality where you actually look forward to the inevitable Viagra joke — because if ever a movie needed a boost, it's this slow-moving Italian affair.
Writer-director-star Gianni de Gregorio plays Gianni, a 60ish retiree who feels taken advantage of by the women in his life: his workaholic wife (Elisabetta Piccolomini), his college-age daughter (played by de Gregorio's own daughter, Teresa), his hot downstairs neighbor (Valeria Cavalli) and his overbearing 96-year-old mother (Valeria de Franciscis).
Gianni also wonders if he doesn't have a few more wild oats to sow, his marital status notwithstanding. This leads to a meandering series of episodes in which Gianni reunites with old girlfriends, meets new women and drools after anything in a skirt.
It's nowhere near as charming as de Gregorio's debut, the gently comic "Mid-August Lunch" (which also featured de Gregorio and de Franciscis as son and mother), as Gianni's horndog pursuit and self-absorption turn more grating as the movie passes.
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'The Salt of Life'
Opens Friday, June 1, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas; not rated, but probably PG-13 for sexual content and some language; in Italian with subtitles; 90 minutes. For more movie reviews, visit nowsaltlake.com/movies.