Daily News from New York, New York • 97

i a TTIKIHGaE i TAe Aids are up to Aeir od tricks again Christopher and Maggie: a delightful match I .4 11 3 fooled into believing this ersatz Italian, who wears more makeup than Boy George, was anyone but her hammy husband? Of course not But the trick in "Lily in Love," a mildly amusing romantic trifle, is that Wynn never quite knows if his loving wife masterminded the whole charade to put a little life into their stale marriage or whether he really fooled her for a time. "Lily in Love" eventually runs out of steam under the unimaginative direction of Karoly Makk. Still, it's a treat to see Christopher Plum-mer and Maggie Smith tackle the leading roles. Plummer plays Wynn to the hilt and he is even funnier as the timid aging Romeo, trying to master the English language. "You are pleased with my performance?" he asks Lily, bowing his head with feigned modesty.

Smith, who gives one of her impeccably witty performances as gazes at him so the audience knows this gentle "Italian" is the kind of man she longs for. EIke Sommer, playing Roberto's leading lady, and Adolph Green, playing the agent never have a chance against such competition. Watching the scenery-chewing antics of Plummer is one of the few real pleasures of the spring movie season. Vfc PETIT CON. Bernard Brieux, Guv Marchand.

Directed bv Gerard Lauzier. At the Plaza. Running time: I hour, minutes. Rated R. rETIT CON" is yet another movie about I an 18-year-old male virgin.

But unlike La the average bubble-brained American movie teen, Michel Choupon is a thinking kid. He fully intends to start his personal social revolution right in the middle of his parents tranquil Paris apartment Feeling trapped in what he bitterly describes as "the family gulag," his life is a continuous protest against his oppressors, namely his long-suffering parents. At the dinner table, Michel accuses his father of being a right-wing tyrant because of his refusal to tolerate "the disorder" in his son's room. He singles out more tyrants in his diary, which is full of hopelessly pompous comments on the world situation that sound terribly brilliant to this high school dropout Michel's favorite retreat is an apartment commune full of aging hippies who accept him for the insufferable juvenile delinquent that he is. But when one couple tries to persuade him to join one of their free love experiments, Michel runs away for this movie teen has yet to solve "the problem," as he calls it Finally his luck does change, when he stumbles on a saucy Algerian temptress (played with verve by Souad Amidou) who is soon sharing his room.

"Petit Con" is based on a popular French cartoon strip created by Gerard Lauzier, whose reputation in his country equals that of American cartoon satirist Garry Trudeau. He also directed this occasionally witty comedy, whose problem is that its teenage rebel wears out his welcome very quickly. Bernard Brieux manages to be properly irritating as the self -consumed Michel, while Guy Marchand is funny and touching as the frustrated father. But the real problem with "Petit Con" is that it's difficult to feel anything for its cartoon--strip hero except loathing. fi i I THE COMPANY OF WOLVES.

Aneeuj Lamoury. David Warner. Directed bv Neil Jordan. At the United Artist and A Gemini. Runnin time: 1 1 as minutes.

Rated R. NCE upon a time in a faraway place marriage in Paul Cox "My First Wife," a furiously intense psychological study which records the traumatic effects of such an announcement on the male ego. John takes rejection badly. He recoils in anger at first, accusing his wife of "killing" him. He charges into the home of his stuffy in-laws where, to their horror and irritation, he has a shouting match with Helen.

He collapses in tears one evening after embracing his bewildered young daughter, whom he eventually tries to "kidnap." Haunted by memories of happier times (the inevitable flashbacks to the wedding and a graphic birth scene), the now listless John is so shattered he attempts suicide. Cox, an unusually daring and eccentric Australian film maker, is as relentless and candid as Ingmar Bergman in "Scenes From a Marriage." He offers no comic relief and as a result, this occasionally pretentious movie is not easy to take. Still, one admires John Hargreaves' fiercely honest performance as John, whose savage self-destructive instincts are not at all soothed by his beloved music. The marvelous Wendy Hughes captures the confusion of the wife who is totally unprepared for the reaction her declaration of independence produces. "My First Wife" is steeped in rage and Cox admits the movie was personal therapy, a chance to expel the hurt and anger he felt after a similar experience.

It is the director's contention men are less able to cope with these situations than women, and this abrasive, unsettling movie seems to prove his point making it poignantly clear just how vulnerable and frightened a man feels when stripped of his family and home. i mnmem i Vz LILY IN LOVE. Christopher Phimmer, Mawle Smith. Directed by Karolv Makk. Baronet.

Runnin time: 101 minutes. Rated PO-ll. If known as London, a presumably handsome young director decided to make a peculiar little movie. He called it "The Company of Wolves," One of the stars u. J) fi :3 i I Wendy John: rage over a marriage gone wrong 1 -HJ SSSsMiSiMJmL I MY FIRST WIFE.

John Harsreaves, Wendy Mushes. Directed by Paul Cox. At Cinema 2. Runnin time: I hour. Jf minute.

No Ratine. after a short story by Angela Carter. The murky fantasy tells of a virginal young woman named Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) who lives in a big country house with a perfectly nice Mommy and Daddy, but who likes to escape into the world of dreams. One night she has a seemingly endless nightmare that would have certainly intrigued Freud. In the dream she finds herself living in an unusually grim fairy tale setting (Anton Furst's art direction is the movie's main asset): An economically depressed village located all too near a forbidding, snake- and cobweb-infested forest Faced with the prospect of dating the village nerd, Rosaleen understandably prefers to hang out with her bespectacled Granny, who is knitting a lovely red shawl for her.

Played with her usual gusto by Angela Lansbury, Granny firmly believes men are beasts and she is full of sage advice. "Never trust a man whose eyebrows meet" warns Granny before launching into an exceedingly gory tale about a traveling man and part-time werewolf who married an unsuspecting village maiden. One day Rosaleen decides to visit Granny in her cozy hut in the woods. Wearing her new red cloak and earning a basket of goodies, she bravely heads for the forest which, by the way, contains a pack of green-eyed wolves that behave in the most gentlemanly fashion even to the extent of pausing long enough for the cameraman to get a good shot of them. Sticking close to the path, as Granny has insisted.

Rosaleen bumps into a handsome rake with vaguely lupine features and telltale eyebrows. He is dressed in a fop's clothing: The kind of sequins and brocade, after-five look that rock star Prince seems to prefer. What happens next should surprise no one, although this old-fashioned fairy tale with its modern sexual overtones has a twist ending. It does, however, bring up a disturbing point: Has anyone looked at Prince's eyebrows lately? raiTZROY WYNN, a bellowing bull of a I 'ha Shakespeare-trained actof who raves main-Li ly about himself, is making his final Broadway appearance in a hit comedy written by Lily Wynn, his backstage wife. The audience is still cackling when Wynn insists on making a speech congratulating himself on marrying a talented writer.

Early the next morning he discovers a new script on his wife's desk with a note warning "Hands Off." Wynn naturally reads it noting with glee Lily has written a role he wants: a handsome 40-ish Italian gentleman, a courtly Latin lover on the order of Rossano BrazzL Lily, as kindly as possible, tries to explain why he could never play such a part "It's a romance, Fitz," she tells him. "Just what I need romance, a change of pace," shouts the actor, trying to demonstrate his ability to be tender with an impromptu reading. Lily is not moved. So Wynn, with the help of a phony nose, false teeth and a hairpiece, transforms himself into Roberto Terranova, a shy, sotto voce middle-aged Italian actor whose only credit is his agent's vague claim he "worked with Fellini when he was a boy." Lily is so intrigued she hires "Roberto" for the romantic lead. Would a savvy New York writer really be JOHN HAS RETURNED to his suburban home after his nightly stint as the host of a classical music program on a Melbourne radio station.

The house, with its stained glass windows and its velvet draperies, is as oppressively somber as a funeral home, but it clearly suits this self-absorbed scholar and composer. Helen, John's wife of 10 years, is hoping he won't notice she is only pretending to be asleep, but for once he is in the mood to talk. Citing alarming statistics on adulterous wives, he asks if she has been unfaithful. Angered by his smug attitude, she blurts out the truth. "I have been unfaithful," explains Helen, who has spent that very afternoon in bed with John's best friend.

"I don't love you any more. It's over." "Who are you?" demands John. "I'm not your wife any more," Helen says quietly. These chilling words signal the end of a CO a.