Review of The Joy of Flying

"Sylvia im Reich der Wollust" aka "Freude am Fliegen" aka "Joy of Flying" (and there are a handful more titles) is a West German German-language movie from 1977, so this one has its 40th anniversary this year. The director is Franz Josef Gottlieb and by now (title and director) you should know what to expect here. It is a mix of (unfunny) comedy and (unaesthetic) sex scenes basically from start to finish paired with lots of nudity and vulgar (though intended funny) dialogues. Lead actress is the blonde Corinne Brodbeck from "Griechische Feigen" and her work in this one we have here is equally unimpressive. looks may be fine, but acting-wise it's not a revelation at all. Of course, the script isn't helping either and lets be honest: Her fellow actors in here aren't better either. The only positive thing here are probably the looks of the really young Olivia Pascal, who is downright stunning. But physical appearance is as usual in Gottlieb (what a name for his approach to film!) not a problem at all. But stunning people alone are no guarantee at all for good films and this one is another in the long list of Gottlieb's failures. Oh yeah, the writer here is Mia Sorell, who has never worked in film before or after this one. This is either a good thing or an alias of another more prolific writer, maybe Gottlieb himself. Who knows. Anyway, as for the cast, frequently when their looks were gone, so were their careers and this is usually a good indicator for talent or lack thereof. At least some of these trashy German/Swiss sex comedies had some funny moments at times. This one here does not even have that. Stay far far away.