Too many fans seem to be blown away

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

What an odd film. Very dated feel. Could almost be older than the 70's - maybe "Ealing" period. It has a naive charm and is mildly amusing in parts. I think the dated feel is that it was not an English production and was perhaps never intended for release in the U.K.? I could see how it would be popular in Brasil itself and was liked there judging from some of the other IMDb reviewers. I only watched it because of my love for all things Brazilian - wife, food, music etc etc and hence the 7 out of 10 as opposed to the 3 I should have given it.I don't know if I would be able to recommend this to anyone else. Maybe samba-lovers? Hugh Laurie obsessives? 40-something men going through a mid-life crisis???

"Who doesn't like Samba, you'd rather not meet There's sick in the head,or lame in the feet"Wrote Dorival Caymmi in 'Samba da Minha Terra'It seems another punter doesn't know the difference between Salsa and Samba. The difference is the same as between Spanish and Portuguese.I arrived at this film by accident. I had video taped it and promptly forgot about it. Then I tried to get through City of God and Favela Rising. I know City of God is well thought of but both films I found upsetting. Drugs, kids, killing, guns and gangsters. Enough of that!As usual I was looking for some spare tape on my badly listed VHS tapes. I fast forwarded a bit, caught the end of another programme I had taped. Then suddenly my favourite Samba beat struck up ! It then alternated with a Northern British brass band. All done in early 1970's bright cartoon style. It was the rhythms that caught my attention. Then came the name of the film ...'The Girl from Rio' I was hooked !The story of this film has already been recounted by previous posters along with the confusion of Salsa and Samba.I must make a confession, I have been to Samba classes just like Raymond ran in the film. This may be one of the reasons I liked it, identification. Of course there were faults. How did Orlinda open the safe in Raymond's room, a nice big combination lock thing? Santos Dumont Airport was used, Raymond takes of in a Boeing 737 and lands in a MD-11. It would not be unusual to take off from Santos Dumont, land in Sao Paulo. Then get the flight to London. Yet does that matter, for the artistic continuity of the film the way it was done was good enough. How many people would know anyway ?I was very envious of Raymond's trip to the Salgueiro Samba School and his girlfriend Orlinda(Vanessa Nunes).When Orlinda appeared out of the crowd of Samba dancers to dance in front of Raymond, I was captivated.The film was a fun piece of nonsense that I found very enjoyable. I loved the twist at the end. I loved the twist of Orlinda as she danced the Samba. So infectious, neither Robert or myself could stay still.Strangely back in 1997 I wrote a story with basic similarities. Check out the link:- 'Sex is Great! If you can get it ?' http://www.geocities.com/cafebrasilia_2000/index5.html

This was one of the lamest movies we watched in the last few months with a predictable plot line and pretty bad acting (mainly from the supporting characters). The interview with Hugh Laurie on the DVD was actually more rewarding than the film itself...Hugh Laurie obviously put a lot of effort into learning how to dance the Samba but the scope of his character only required that he immerse himself at the kiddie end of the pool. The movie is based on the appearance of a lovely girl and great music but these are not sufficient to make good entertainment.If you have never seen Rio, or the inside of a British bank, this film is for you. 2 out of 10.

Raymond (Hugh Laurie) is a bank clerk that dream on Rio de Janeiro and the samba dancer Orlinda (the beautiful and exotic Vanessa Nunes). He has a secret class of samba at night, where he teaches the rhythm and how to dance samba to British persons. One day, he finds that his wife is cheating him with his boss and he decides to rob the bank and go to Rio de Janeiro to meet his passion. In the arrival, he meets the cab driver Paulo (Santiago Segura), an authentic 'malandro carioca' (smart guy born in Rio) and he crosses the way of the powerful 'bicheiro' (owner of an illegal and popular Brazilian lottery, called 'jogo de bicho' – translating, would be animal lottery). This movie is really very funny. I watched it just to see what type of movie could a Spanish-British production offer about Rio de Janeiro, and I was indeed surprised. They use all the stereotypes that you can imagine: the Englishman that robs a bank and goes to Rio de Janeiro, the smart taxi driver, the samba dancer, the 'bicheiro', the slums, the samba school, the corruption. For locals like me, there are many funny non-senses: Raymond arrives from London in our domestic airport (Santos Dumont), instead of our international airport (Tom Jobim). The geography of Rio de Janeiro was completely disregarded: when a character crosses a tunnel, or climbs a slum, in the next scene he will be in a completely different area of Rio de Janeiro. Another funny situation is when the money is flying over the slum: please note in the right side of the TV screen and you will see a man throwing money for the shot. Anyway, this movie is very funny and Hugh Laurie is perfect, with his British behavior and lost as a tourist in Rio. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Garota do Rio" ("Girl of Rio")