The Woman in Red

Teddy Pierce is a happily married advertising art director with two children, a comfortable home and a circle of friends. His settled life is upended when he spots a striking young woman in a red silk dress, and he becomes fixated on her. He soon learns she is the model his agency has chosen for a new campaign, which brings her into his working world and gives his pursuit a purpose. Encouraged by his friends, he schemes to get close to her while keeping his wife Didi from finding out, but each attempt entangles him further in misunderstandings and awkward situations. The title role went to Kelly LeBrock, with Charles Grodin, Joseph Bologna and Judith Ivey among the supporting cast.

Gene Wilder directed, wrote the screenplay and starred. It was the second of the three features he directed, following The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother in 1975 and preceding Haunted Honeymoon in 1986, with Victor Drai producing for Orion Pictures. Made for about nine million dollars, it took roughly twenty-five million worldwide.

On IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from around 19,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 out of 10 from a far smaller number of votes, suggesting a modest, widely seen comedy rather than a strongly rated one. A critics' score of 4.3 out of 10 from nineteen reviews is markedly lower than the audience figures.