João César Monteiro's God's Comedy is perhaps the epitome of 'a dirty old man movie'. Monteiro himself plays a João de Deus, a well dressed, studious old bachelor who works at an ice cream parlor, making such fabulous concoction as Paraíso and others. He only hires beautiful young girls to work there, emphasizing on maintaining impeccable personal hygiene. As the movie plays out, we get to learn his weird sexual kinks these girls supply him with. He collects girl's pubes with special notes in a handsome bound book named "Book of Thoughts". There is Rosarinho (Raquel Ascensão), a curly haired, luminous beauty, of whom João takes a special interest in. Then there is 14 year old Joaninha (Cláudia Teixeira), a butcher's daughter whom he gives a milk bath, with the intention of making ice cream out of that tub of milk. The thing is, with long, intriguing face, João is not in the least creepy. His actions might cause him repercussions in the form of bodily harm and unemployment, but enough wit and charm, he is no different than Woody Allen. There are many other funny in-jokes in the film- especially the João's hilarious, long winded speech at the possible joint venture celebration with a French businessman (his name is Antoine Doinel and doesn't look anything like Jean-Pierre Léaud and João mentions that).
God's Comedy is an offbeat, often funny film and it showcases the director's unique comedic style. But clocking at almost 3 hours, the film is a slog to go through. It could've easily been a deft 90 minute film.
