Woody Allen was always the New Yorkers movie teller, but ever since Vicky Christina Barcelona, he’s gone from Midnight in Paris to Rome with Love.
In this tale of four couples in vignette-type love stories, Woody manages to capture the tourist’s vision of Italy. Roberto Benigni is a hapless local when he’s plucked for stardom, suddenly having his every move followed right down to his morning shaves. (A smart satire on celebrity.) Jesse Eisenberg (a young Woody Allen in the making) is a young architect, and has come to Rome with his girlfriend, Greta Gerwig, only to find himself falling for her best friend, Ellen Page. Yes, Ellen “Juno” tomboy Page, not your Scarlett Johansson we’ve come to depend on in these seductive Allen films. Eisenberg is followed around by Alec Baldwin as his good/evil shoulder angel. Penelope Cruz, who should have been cast in the Juno role, has her own storyline as the local girl-for-hire and finally, Woody Allen plays a retired New Yorker come to meet his daughter’s future husband and the future in-laws where he discovers that the father (Fabio Armiliato) has a voice like Caruso, but only when he’s in the shower. This specific storyline is the funniest. And that’s a good thing since probably the most unusual thing about this comedy is that it’s not very funny. But overall it appears Allen seems as comfortable in Europe as we might on vacation. Let’s hope next year he takes me to Scotland or Germany. Three tiaras