Woman Times Seven is a collection of vignettes about seven random women (not adultery, as the synopsis claims) all played by Shirley MacLaine, and all the women are different. That's the whole point, they are different - one is shy, one is a prude, one is a bitch, one is even boring! They end up in different situations, some ridiculous, some poignant. There is no over-arching thread or moral to bind them together. They are character studies more than plots, something American audiences may not appreciate. Some vignettes are left unresolved, some are broad comedies, some are bittersweet. If you are waiting for the punchline it isn't always here, but sometimes it is, leaving the overall flow bumpy and uneven. I'm not a fan of vignette films, but it's so difficult to find interesting female characters in today's films. How refreshing to see many different "types" here - even if all played by the same actress. MacLaine is good. She's thoughtful about each character and steps out of her usual pixie/harlot role, but taken together it feels like a gimmick - the sum is not greater than the parts. The characters suit the style of each story, so some have gravity and others are comic caricatures that serve the situation - another aspect that makes the film seem uneven. Within each vignette MacLaine does a fine job, using her considerable talents as a dancer to physically embody each woman differently, but we're not with these women long enough to see any metamorphosis. The first is a grieving widow opposite Peter Sellers whose words of comfort keep turning to inappropriate propositions. The scene belongs completely to Sellers, and it's the weakest of the stories. The second character is a prudish wife who after discovering her husband and her best friend in bed, runs out of the house vowing to have sex with the first random man she meets. Instead she finds sympathy in a group of prostitutes who exchange war stories about love and men. For all their sexual experience they don't seem to have a better grasp on relationships, and an instant sisterhood bridges their social divide.The third is a modern sex farce about a beautiful UN translator who has become so jaded about men that she has idolized her platonic relationship with a gay roommate. Meanwhile she reads poetry in the nude and invites two playboy dignitaries to her bed while she shows them slides of modernist paintings. the handsome men humor her bizarre quirks while trying to get the other to leave, a testament to men putting up with any amount of femcrazy to get laid. The fourth character is the dull housewife who feels she must compete with the unrealistic fantasy woman of her husband's novels. She begins to embody the outlandish descriptions, wearing wigs and costumes, laughing and singing and being so impetuous that everyone begins to think she is having a mental breakdown. This is the first episode that feels like a real story arc, moving from awkward comedy to a heartbreaking moment as she realizes she has gone too far, crying out "I'm not crazy , I'm just in love!"The fifth vignette is my favorite. MacLaine plays a society bitch who is mortified to discover a rival will be wearing the same gown to the opera. The stakes escalate as their powerful husbands get involved, then their husbands' corporations as the two Dames flex their power, neither willing to budge. MacLaine is spectacular shifting gears between barking orders at her husband's employees, giving condescending lectures to the maid, looking absolutely fabulous, while plotting violent sabotage. It's lavish and campy and evil. So much fun!The next episode clunks. MacLaine and Alan Arkin are lovers trying to negotiate a suicide pact but keep coming up with excuses to not go through with it. The dialog feels improv, and it all takes place in realtime in one room, like a one-act play or a TV skit. It's a case where the vignette before it is so lavish and fun this scene drags in comparison.In the final piece, a shy housewife and a glamorous model friend meet for lunch and they are followed by a young man. As they separate the shy woman is thrilled the man follows her instead of her friend. She wanders home slowly hoping to make the moment last. The tone is innocent and bittersweet (but also a little creepy by today's standards of harassment and stalking - there is a twist at the end that lets us know he will not come back later, break into her house, and murder them all).What's remarkable with Woman Times Seven is individual moments that stick with you long after the movie has gone. It never gels together as a whole, but I feel that's a problem with all vignette films. There are some interesting situations and characters who probably are not compelling enough for a whole movie, and maybe that's the idea. Most of these women are having small personal moments that define them. It's individual portraits done in a charming way, with a big talent Hollywood actress but with European flavor. We get to follow some pre-feminist characters we would not normally be allowed to see. They are fallible, self-contradictory, and immature. While there are observations about the different sexual expectations of men and women, it's dismissive to say this is a movie about "adultery" or sexual romps, as if it is another slice of '60s Euro-erotica. Instead of cheesecake, many of the women are portrayed unflatteringly or for laughs. The viewer sees through the illusion they do not see themselves, and there-in lies the opportunity to say dozens of small truths through comedy: it *is* crazy to try to become someone's fantasy. The shyest person could crave dangerous attention. Love is NOT worth dying over, but also death is not the end of love....

Vittorio De Sica's seven tiered black comedy stars Shirley MacLaine alongside an international group of leading men. She's a widow wooed by Peter Sellers (during the funeral procession), the mousy, dejected wife of Rosanno Brazzi, an interpreter playing sex games with Vittorio Gassman & Clinton Grey, the unfulfilled wife of nitwit romance novelist Lex Barker, the shrike wife of wealthy Patrick Wymark, a cheating wife in a suicide pact with Alan Arkin, and finally a bored Parisian housewife pursued by Michael Caine. None of this is particularly memorable and only some of it's even funny, but MacLaine looks terrific and the actors are all fine (though Sellers vanishes too quickly & Caine has no on-screen dialog). There's some great Paris locations photographed by Christian Matras and Anita Ekberg and Elsa Martinelli appear in cameos.

With all the stars on call and what seems like a decent budget the seven short films often seem to be struggling to find a point and fall flat. The only exception is Michael Cane's outing. This is a little gem, a perfect musical score and well shot. The story has a little twist and is what I imagine all the other six films aspired to.SPOILERShirley is, in my humble view, looking absolutely stunning, as the faithful wife/sex kitten who never quite strayed from the path, but the first time she is tempted is, ironically enough.. by the private eye following her on the orders of her jealous husband.Excellent little short, makes the film worth watching.

Well, this movie is a little pointless. The endings to each sequel aren't shone and the plots themselves except for Edith and Marie, are a little drastic. Can you imagine a beige haired Shirley MacLaine wondering around her apartment naked reading T.S. Elliot while a Mediterranean man and a gorgeous blonde Scot are sitting on the bed, paying more attention to this pixie like artistic woman than the story that she reads? A little odd...Yes...But Shirley pulled it off. All these stories have a theme "Love can drive you crazy." There's also a story of a rich, spoiled woman (Eve) who wants a stupid dress like no other so she tries to blow up the other owner of her dress! Then there's Edith, who loves her author husband enough to come out of her bland, unexciting shell into the characters that he creates. That 15 minute part right there could've been a movie. The doctor and Vic tell Edith that she's crazy but she cries from the roof top "I'M NOT CRAZY!!! I'M IN LOVE!!" There's Maria Theresa, who comes home a day early and catches her friend sleeping with her husband. In out rage she runs to hookers to sleep with another man to drive her husband wild with jealousy. Marie and Fred are two lovers who are confused about life. They decide to make a suicide pact. I was surprised at how cute Alan Arkin really was when he wasn't in "Wait Until Dark"! Anyhow, they both decide that no love is worth the trouble of shooting each other or whatnot. Of course after they finish boffing each other. There's Jeanne, who is followed with her friend by a "mysterious stranger" who was only hired to follow her to make sure that she wasn't cheating on her suspicious husband. All of these stories are odd and a little loony but seeing Shirley MacLaine change so much for each part is delight. She goes to every color of hair, every style of look, through every outfit you can imagine. She looks great! Apart from that, this movie is a little much for kids and well, I don't highly suggest it to anybody other than dedicated Shirley MacLaine fans. OTHER STARS: Michael Caine appears. He's too cute.