The Last Romantic Lover (1978) User Reviews

The Last Romantic Lover

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 14 November 2022]

Directed by Just Jaeckin, this film has magazine editor Elisabeth (Dayle Haddon, Sex With a Smile, Spermula) having a contest to find the greatest lover in the world with each of the selections getting to spend quality time with her. One of those men is liontamer Pierre (Gerald Ismaël), who works for a destitute circus run by Max (Fernando Rey).

This movie may be less thought of than Jeackin's Emmanuelle yet it's a worthwhile film. Perhaps less overall sex, sure, but it still has an erotic charge and more of a romantic story. If you had The Playboy Channel in the 80s, there's a good chance you probably saw this. And hey -- Dalila Di Lazzaro (Frankenstein 80, the female monster in Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, The Pyjama Girl Case, the headmistress in Phenomena) plays herself!

A nice, romantic movie

[CorumJI · 9/10 · 17 October 2003]

I have not seen this movie in a number of years, so my impression of it may no longer be the same if I saw it today, but I recall being pleasantly surprised by it.

This movie is probably far and away the best one by the same director of the films Emmanuelle, The Story of 'O', and The Perils of Gwendoline.

While in each of those films, the sex is central to the storyline, as well as the main justification for the movie, in this one the sex is far more incidental, subtle, and far less prevalent.

The plot centers around a circus owner who, in the audience of a "dating" game show, winds up winning a weekend with "the girl of his choice". On the air, he "chooses" the jaded, "world weary" female emcee, played by Dayle Haddon.

For reasons which I don't recall, but seemed reasonable, she is grudgingly dragooned into basically hanging out with him for a weekend at his circus. She clearly expects him to be far more crude and unrefined than he turns out to be, as he sets out to make her fall in love with him.

It's probably not realistic, but it is, if my own recollections hold up, a fairly nice romantic story nonetheless. I am pretty sure it would be a good date movie, offhand.

I would rate it fairly high among the various French movies I have seen. I think the copy I saw was dubbed, not subtitled, but since Haddon, I think, was doing her own voice, it was well dubbed. Again, though, no promises.

Good luck finding it, of course, since no one seems to have a DVD or videotape of it for sale according to IMDB. I think I last saw it on one of the Pay channels in the mid-80s. There does seem to be a mail order rental house that has it, however.

A sweet romance

[djknelsons · 8/10 · 22 February 2004]

This is a sweet romance about a liberated woman and a lion tamer. What? Yes. She runs a contest for a magazine to find the last romantic lover. But the magazine criteria are slightly different than the sweet man who she meets. He is a lion tamer at a poor circus, who is entered into the contest by the other members of the circus to get money to help the circus buy a new lion. He is sweet, and lives a simple, if exotic, life with the circus. He believes it is romantic to just sleep with a woman, not just to have sex with her. A happy ending makes this a cult favorite.

This is actually a good movie!

[couts_a · 8/10 · 3 November 2008]

I was way too young to have seen this movie...about 8 years old peeking at the Cinemax late night movies, but I do remember it quite well. The main character Pierre was so sweet and loving that he seemed too good to be true, especially for the love interest...Elisabeth (Dayle Haddon). The funniest parts are when the weekend gets started and they are at his circus hanging out. He has a lot of "carny" friends that care for him and that part works well, but the usual sex stuff wasn't so overboard as most French films go. The ending was touching and through the whole movie you are rooting for Pierre! If you like older foreign films this is a must see.

French twist on a Men's Beauty Contest combined with a Circus fun for all!

[rapunzelmc · 9/10 · 18 July 2010]

I enjoyed this movie so much when it was on I saw it every showing, dubbed and subtitled. I even pulled out my Cassette tape recorder (1980) and taped the first scene in the bedroom when he describes the position for her to take.

I tried to have a friend of mine in Northern VA who was married to an IT geek to record it on video for me. They forgot about it so that didn't happen. I was in college at the time and felt it satisfied all I wanted in a Romantic-Comedy without making me feel cheap or question the validity of the dialog.

I wish I could get a hold of it as well, as it has been my favorite movie since I saw it on Cable (1980) when it first came to Richmond, VA. It is as Elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel. Anyone finds it please let me know!