To Rome With Love - review.

Enjoyable farce.... Judy Davis and Woody Allen in To Rome With Love.

Woody Allen returns front of camera this time in his latest trip to a European city. To Rome With Love sports some stunning sights and a excellent view of the city for non-travellers but the plot disappoints you, marginally. It focuses on numerous people leaving you interested in parts of the film. The first is a tale of parents, Phyllis and Gerry (Davis and Allen) visiting their young daughter (Alison Pill) and her fiancé (Flavio Parenti). This tale escalates quickly from an elderly couple visiting their daughter to the father recruiting his daughter's fiancé's father to sing opera. This strand of the plot is the furthest fetched and the most unconvincing. The next is Jack, (Jesse Eisenberg) a nerdy wannabe architect living with his girlfriend, Sally (Greta Gerwig) in a backstreet of Rome. He encounters famous architect, John (played rather well by Alec Baldwin) who discovers Sally's best friend, Monica (Ellen Page) is coming to stay with the couple. When Monica arrives, John becomes the cynical voice in Jack's head advising him of the dangers of flirting with this woman. The story begins rather sensibly before escalating as most of these story strands do. One of the most enjoyable of the multiple strands is the tale of Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) and Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi), a pair of rather clueless newlyweds who arrive in the capital to spend a honeymoon. Things go from bad to worse and Milly is hanging around with famous Italian movie star, Luca Salta (Antonio Albanese) whilst Antonio cavorts with call girl, Anna (played by Penélope Cruz). This strand is enjoyable but again, unconvincing. The last storyline is that of, Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni), an ordinary clerk whose life is turned around overnight. This strand is the most ironic, making fun of people who are "famous for being famous", Leopoldo is asked his opinions on the weather, what hand does he use to scratch his head and when he shaves. This strand is slightly irritating and repetitive but the moral is clearer than the rest, if there is a moral in the rest. 
Its certainly different from Midnight In Paris but has the same charm. You should certainly view To Rome With Love in the same way you viewed Midnight In Paris.


4/5