Rent What? (1972)

Weird and irreverent sex farce - What? review by JO

Film follows the adventures of an attractive young American woman alone in Rome. In the opening scenes she suffers an attempted rape and 'escapes' to a secluded Villa owned by an elderly lecher. She mixes with a depraved bunch of horny perverts and indulges in bizarre sadomasochistic ordeals with Marcelo Mastroiani. Admittedly the tiger whipping scene is one of the few highlights.

'What?' is a depraved movie which takes as much delight in treating Sydne Rome as a sex object as the characters do. I couldn't see the point to this film other than to gratuitously exploit the assets of the beautiful actress. It's more sick than funny. It showcases some major recurring themes in Polanski's work - particularly sexual obsession - but the handling is too light and irreverent. It's also not funny or witty enough to be considered a satire (but it seems to aspire to some sort of social commentary). There's no moral compass at all in this picture and the director seems to be filming his own perverted desires. Maybe that's the point. It's really like a warped, oversexed 'Alice in Wonderland' which soon grows tiresome. Worth it if you are an ardnent fan of the director.

Easy to see why it bombed.