"Go Naked in the World" is a very bad film....a glossy, good looking bad film. The more you watch it, the more you realize it's a bad film....with too many characters who seem like caricatures and absolutely no subtlety. It's a shame, as there are many interesting story elements but the sum total is just bad...really bad. Better writers EASILY could have made this into a very good film...but apparently these were not better writers!
When the story begins, Nick Stratten (Tony Franciosa) has returned to his hometown after serving a hitch in the army. While you might think he'd go straight home to see his parents, Nick doesn't as his relationship with his father is extremely problematic! Pete Stratten (Ernest Borgnine) is a loud, blustering and controlling father....and Nick claims that he wants to be free of his father's control. However, although this seems admirable that Nick wants to make his own way in life, he's a jerk-face...who goes to his father for money but then, at the same time, resents his old man and makes it obvious. As for the father, he's no prince....as he's never been faithful to his wife and has spent time schtupping a high-class prostitute, Guilietta (Gina Lollobrigida). Later, Nick finds out that his new girlfriend, the one he's head-over-heels over, is the girl Pete's been seeing for years. And, apparently, so have many, many of Pete's friends! This is obviously NOT a super-healthy family!!
So why did I dislike the film so much? I blame much of it on the writers (as I mentioned above) and the director. After all, Pete is supposed to be a large personality....but there is zero subtlety about the guy and he spends most of the movie screaming his lines. I know Ernest Borgnine was a fabulous actor, so I don't completely blame him, but his character is so unreal. As for Nick and the rest of them, it's so sad that the LEAST over-the-top and most real character was the prostitute!!
The film COULD have been a great film about a father and son who are estranged. There ARE interesting things in the movie. But instead, it's just badly written, unconvincing and dumb....and filled with a bazillion and one plot holes. Ut also suffers from one huge problem....you simply don't like most of the characters! It's a pretty looking bad film, but a bad film nonetheless.
