Strawberry Blonde (1980)

Overview

Groundbreaking in its own way, Bionda fragola is inspired by The Boys in The Band, La cage aux folles (shot two years earlier), with a touch of Neil Simon. Based on a stage drama (1978), it is the first comedy film to focus on a light, "normalized" homosexual lifestyle. It is an important and courageous (for the period in which it was shot) example of Italian-style camp, which tells the story of a stable gay couple. Accountant Antonio (Umberto Orsini) and pharmacist Domenico (Mino Bellei) live together as if they were married, but their relationship becomes shaky when model Adriano comes on the scene. Bionda fragola was written, directed and interpreted by theatre director and actor Mino Bellei. The title recalls the much referenced, homonymous movie of 1941directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Rita Hayworth (The Strawberry Blonde).