There are moments of inspired lunacy which no one has ever done better than Woody Allen. In this film he seems to reprise Broadway Danny Rose by being a retired music business entrepreneur. While meeting his soon to be in laws in Rome, he discovers that the groom's father sings Paglliaci fantastically but he can only sing in the shower. So..... he puts him on stage in the shower in an opera production! This is as inspired an idea as his blind movie director in Hollywood Endings.The rest of movie is uneven with some parts being much stronger than others.
While normally I might not like the Jesse Eisenberg as Woody stand-in with yet another super neurotic relationship with the non Jewish girlfriend of his dreams, this scenario is entirely saved by Alec Baldwin's being on the scene to advise him on all aspects of this unfolding relationship. Baldwin is wonderful. Eisenberg as Woody, well he follows in a long line of Woody stand ins and he is fine at it.
There are other ensemble moments which are done entirely in Italian because the characters are entirely Italian. The most successful of these is Roberto Begnini who gets his fifteen minutes of fame and goes nuts when it is over. This is well trod ground for this actor, complete with his typical dropping his pants moment. Frankly though, I would have enjoyed these more if these plot points also had Americans in them so everyone could be speaking English. Allen's last movie, set in Paris, would have been less successful if big chunks of it had been in the French spoken language. The Italian language segments just seem forced somehow.
Woody Allen's worst movie is probably a B. That's why this is at worst a B. It is way too uneven for me to be one of his A movies.
This is but one of 4 separate and unconnected stories in the film. In another fantasy-like episode, Alec Baldwin seemingly relives a year he spent in Rome as a young man. He squires a man (Jesse Eisenberg) who he meets while trying to find his old apartment. Jack (Eisenberg) is living with Sally (Greta Gerwig) who is a student. A semi-famous movie actress (Ellen Page) is a friend of Sally's and comes for a visit. Against John's (Baldwin) warnings, Jack begins to spend time with Monica (Page) and one thing leads to another.
In perhaps the most offbeat piece, Oscar winner Roberto Benigni ("Life is Beautiful") plays an Italian everyman who suddenly finds that he is famous for no apparent reason. He is a small time clerk in an office. He has a wife and a couple kids. Then one day reporters and photographers become interested in his mundane life. Questions like "what did you have for breakfast?" or do you use an electric or blade when you shave?" become regular events. He goes on TV for interviews. He appears at movie premiers. Benigni is truly a comic genius. I wish I could see more of him.
Finally, there are the newlyweds in Rome for their honeymoon. Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) leaves the hotel to get her hair done in anticipation of an evening with Antonio's (Alessandro Tiberi) aunts and uncles who she has never met. She gets lost and through a series of missteps gets invited to dinner by one of Italy's biggest movie stars. In another unlikely event, Antonio gets a visit from a gorgeous hooker (Penelope Cruz) who has him mistaken for her real client. In an amusing bit, Anna (Cruz) must play the role of Milly the new bride while having dinner with the family and then meeting a potential new employer for Antonio.
If this all seem confusing and a bit much. It is and it isn't. Since there is no ultimate crossing of paths as do most movies like this, the film plays out easily and isn't hard to follow. Allen certainly has his moments but some of the jokes do fall flat. Still it's Woody Allen. If you are a fan, go see it. If you're not, this film should not be confused with "Annie Hall" or "Midnight In Paris."
Buy To Rome With Love (2012) Now
Having been to Rome recently, and having always been a fan of Woody Allen, I approached TO ROME WITH LOVE with excitement. I hope Woody was going to continue his winning ways, because he's certainly shown recently that he is quite capable of producing some very good films (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA, MATCH POINT). But, he's also cranked out some pretty lazy stuff too (SCOOP, WHATEVER WORKS).TO ROME WITH LOVE teeters into the latter category, I'm afraid. It has some amusing moments, and some great shots of Rome...but it has several performances that are downright terrible, thanks primarily to the script.
The film is really 4 films in one. The stories don't intertwine (in fact, they cover different lengths of time, even though scenes are interspersed), and they each have different themes or comedic styles. I'm all for a hodge-podge, but this one doesn't work.
Story one features Woody Allen, Judy Davis (a favorite) and Alison Pil. Allen & Davis are a married couple, travelling to Rome to meet their daughter's fiancé and family. Allen is an opera director (!) known for his unusual approaches to famous pieces. He discovers that his soon-to-be son-in-law's father has a fantastic singing voice. But you know the idea that we all sound good in the shower? That's the problem here...the guy only sings well in the shower. But this does not stop Allen from trying to cash in. The story is actually pretty amusing, and the climactic scenes are quite hilarious. Big laughs from my wife and I. However, Allen did not give Davis great dialogue...which is a shame, because is movies like HUSBANDS AND WIVES, she delivered the most blistering performances of any Allen female character.
Story two stars the often annoying Roberto Benigni. He plays an ordinary office worker who suddenly becomes famous. FOR NO REASON. Abruptly, he is thrust into the limelight, followed day and night by cameras. He (and his befuddled but eagerly accepting wife) are taken to movie premieres. He appears on talk shows. His slightest movement or utterance is reported on. Gorgeous women throw themselves at him. He is a REALITY TV STAR. Just because. Allen is clearly making a commentary here, and many of the individual scenes are funny, but the script is hardly incisive. Benigni is funny (!) and we root for his character...but the tone of this piece is also out of place with the more sit-comish style of the rest.
Story three tells the story of a newlywed couple, who have come to Rome for their honeymoon and to meet the husband's rich extended family. They are "from the country" but look forward to making the move to the family business in the city. The wife leaves the hotel for a quick errand, and becomes hopelessly lost. Meanwhile, the husband has been confused with someone else, and a prostitute ends up at his door (Penelope Cruz, amusing but really just slumming). Circumstance forces Cruz and her reluctant client to pretend to be husband and wife, which leads to some social awkwardness as all the powerful folks in Rome recognize Cruz and are worried she's there to rat them out to their wives. The original wife embarks on adventures of her own. Will the young couple learn something and find each other again? What do you think? This story, while a bit hard to believe (the husband's half seems to take about 3 times as long as the wife's), has the tone of a modern fable and in many ways is the most successful part of the film.
Finally, story four features Jesse Eisenberg and Greta Gerwig as students living abroad. They are a happy enough couple, but we're to believe they've already settled into the domestic boredom that Allen thinks all long term couples endure. Into their tranquil setting comes Ellen Page, as Gerwig's best friend. Page plays such an annoying character, she is completely unlikeable throughout (and that's a big thing to say for the usually quite charming and witty actress). Her character spouts literary nonsense all the time and yet is apparently irresistible to men. Eisenberg is smitten almost immediately, and his argues with his conscience almost incessantly. (Said conscience is played by Alec Baldwin...I won't even try to tell you how that happens). This story features the best shots of Rome...but is almost utterly unwatchable. These four fine actors are given such poor dialogue that there is NO help for them. Baldwin's impeccable comic timing does him no good with the words he's forced to say. Gerwig is wan and whiny. Eisenberg is standing in for a younger Woody Allen, and while he can pull off the Allen-esque mannerisms and inflections, it doesn't make WHAT he says any wittier or more believable. And Page, as smart and interesting as she is, just doesn't have what it takes to be this irresistible siren.
So taken as a whole, TO ROME WITH LOVE is an okay Woody Allen film. If you are NOT a fan, do NOT see it. You'll be annoyed beyond belief. If you DO like Allen, I'd say go ahead, but be prepared for mid-level Allen only. I love his desire to jaunt across Europe; I just wish his visits were more consistently delightful.
Read Best Reviews of To Rome With Love (2012) Here
Sometimes I go to the movies for pure enjoyment...and this film fits the bill. No it is not brilliant comedy like "Hannah and her Sisters" nor movie magic like "Midnight in Paris" but (yes) it does have quite a lot of laughs and excellent one liners. Woody Allen's spouse is played by Judy Davis and she delivers with excellent deadpan humor. He tells her "I think I have a breakthrough, an epiphany, what would you call it?" "A Death Wish"...she replies.And who can't relate to the scene where an unsophisticated Italian woman gets completely lost in Rome, obtaining directions that simply cannot be followed. And then she forgets the name of her hotel!
Combining some of his methods from "Annie Hall" and "Play it Again Sam", Woody Allen does a marvelous job of deconstructing the "conversation of dating". And on this point, he hits a bulls-eye. The character played by Alec Baldwin (John) is an imaginary older version of Jesse Eisenberg (Jack) who counsels his younger self on the repercussions of getting involved with the pretty friend of his fiance played by Ellen Page (Monica). Since Monica is interested in the theatre, Jack tries to woo her by exclaiming Monica would be perfect for the role of "Miss Julie" a part involving shifting roles of sexual dominance. Alec Baldwin rolls his eyes and tells Jack he can't believe he is using "that line" as a hook to get into bed with Monica (the aspiring actress). But the line works.
I won't reveal the funniest moments, but they had me in stitches. It's a fun romantic movie with four independent stories. And a happy ending for the comic misadventures of love. The director is sensitive to urban cinematography...his photography of Rome lavishly displays some of the important tourist destinations. Don't expect miracles, but it is more imaginative than most of the new romantic comedies coming out this year. Recommended.
Want To Rome With Love (2012) Discount?
It is summer, it is hot and one of the movies a friend of long-standing and I enjoyed best was Woody Allen's trip to Barcelona a few years ago around this time. So off we went on a sweltering late afternoon in New York to see what Mr. Allen had made of his recent visit to Rome, while stopping first at a great Italian food shop on Second Avenue for some iced beverages, and in the spirit of the moment.When we finally got to Woody's 'Rome', I laughed my way through the movie with the majority of the audience, and sometimes slightly more. The viewers are first introduced to the beautiful Eternal City by the graceful signals of a traffic director who would make an aspiring ballet dancer proud. After he listens with resignation to a predictable car collision of some kind, the traffic director pauses in the middle of his job, turns to the movie audience, and proceeds with a welcoming smile to invite the viewers to witness the experiences of some couples and families in Rome in the form of four short stories.
Woody Allen joins one of the vignettes, donning the costume of an elderly and anxious father from New York on a flight with his wife to meet his future Italian in-laws, and his irritated and morose comments on the plane made to his wife, a psychologist, are priceless. Call it syndromes of fear of flying, but it makes one feel that one has encountered such a passenger or two at some point in one's life. Mr. Allen is at his best, and for those of us acquainted with his views of existence in his other works, I found myself looking at certain things from his vantage point, cranky and neurotic as these may seem to other viewers of any age.
There are all different types of humor to be found in Allen's 'Rome', gauged from the participants in these stories, and depending on one's nature and frame of mind, some forms of comedy will appeal to more than others. My favorite flavor, which I had never seen from Woody Allen before, was the introduction of surrealistic absurdities inserted mostly into his own story, and that of another anecdote of his in the movie, where a modest clerk becomes famous for being famous. To quote a late European playwright and dramatist: "Logic is a very beautiful thing. As long as it is not abused'". All to say, I was reminded at times during certain parts of the movie of the surrealist director Buñuel, especially when Allen pokes fun in a gentler way at all different facets of society, regardless of gender or nationality.
When the movie was over, my friend and I stepped out into the warm tropical night with smiles on our faces. And, while she expressed certain reservations about Mr. Allen's latest, I reminded her that when she is not in the picture for mortal support and a phone call away, I always take Woody Allen in one pocket and Ingmar Bergman in the other when I venture out into unexplored territories. Mr. Allen has bailed me out of a few absurd and memorable situations that I have found myself in over the decades, the latter usually brought on by myself. He has always helped to redress my perspective and outlook, causing a wry grin of appreciation on my part.
As for his 'Paris', I have yet to see it although I spent a wonderful dinner in The City of Lights decades ago with a charming British stranger at Midnight, laughing our heads off as we swapped rip-roar jokes made by Woody Allen, making the rounds at the time. To Rome with love, and congratulations to Mr. Allen on his latest achievement.
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