La Liceale -1975- -

La Liceale is a guilty pleasure, but only if you have a very high tolerance for 70s sexual politics. It is not a good film in the conventional sense, but it is a perfect artifact. Think of it as the cinematic equivalent of a vintage Playboy centerfold mixed with a National Lampoon sketch—juvenile, leering, but possessed of an innocent, pre-AIDS, pre-political-correctness energy that no longer exists.

The story follows Gianna (Guida), a beautiful high schooler with a strict father and an overactive libido. After a series of comic misunderstandings—including a mistaken identity involving a prostitute and a stolen exam—she finds herself entangled with a playboy photographer and a clumsy, lovestruck classmate. The plot is merely a clothesline upon which to hang a series of slapstick chases, voyeuristic peeks, and double-entendres. La Liceale -1975-

Directed by the prolific Michele Massimo Tarantini, La Liceale is the film that launched one of Italian cinema’s most beloved (and infamous) sub-genres: the "commedia sexy all'italiana" set in high school. Starring the radiant Gloria Guida as the innocent yet curious student, this 1975 offering isn't high art, but it is a near-perfect time capsule of its era—breezy, provocative, and unapologetically goofy. La Liceale is a guilty pleasure, but only

Visually, the film is a joy. It’s bathed in that warm, golden, slightly hazy 70s Italian light. The locations—from classic Roman high schools to seaside villas—feel like a vacation postcard. The score by Ubaldo Contini is pure library-music gold: funky bass lines, wah-wah pedals, and flutes that scream "seduction scene." The story follows Gianna (Guida), a beautiful high

Furthermore, the pacing is languid. Entire minutes are dedicated to Guida simply riding a bicycle or walking down a hallway to the funky soundtrack. If you need a tight narrative, look elsewhere.