Macaroni

Two incredible actors team up for this tender film about two World War II buddies who are reunited in modern day Naples only to find that Antonio (Mastroianni)has been forging letters to his sister from Robert (Lemmon) since the war ended. It was his way of helping her forget the American who left her behind. Worth viewing for the fantastic chemistry between both stars.

The conceit of this odd little film is that to experience family love the late-middle-aged American man must return whence he found it -- to Italy of course!

The score is lovely but the sound quality execrable. The comedy hits Americans sideways but the location shots of Naples are breathtaking. (What can Florence be like?)

The storyline is all over the place but then it doesn't matter because we are spellbound by every scene where Lemmon and Mastroianni are together. Both are at the top of their form, not out of any sense of competing, but rather out of respect -- to their characters, to their director, and to each other.

Lemmon is the most restrained I've ever seen him. His tendency to be seen working is quelled, perhaps, by Mastroianni's generous willingness to cede the center of the stage.

So what we have is a little movie with a somewhat pretentious theme that nevertheless, because of its idiosyncrasies and contradictions, and especially because of the performances of its leads, is well worth viewing.

Macaroni follows the renewal of friendship bewtween two men who have not seen each other since WWII. The only not-so-good part of the movie is that it is very predictable. It is never too hard to guess what will happen next. Some may enjoy these types of film however I would rather be challenged!

The wonderful part of this film is the pairing of Lemmon and Mastroianni. They are wonderful together. I have not laughed this hard watching a movie in a long time. Trust me, you will be rolling on the floor. But it is not all fun and games, there is a serious message. Watch it and find out!

Macaroni casts Jack Lemmon as an American businessman on a trip to Naples, his first since World War II when he traveled on a group rate and probably landed at Salerno. The Neapolitan women were most grateful to the Americans for liberation, most grateful indeed.

Over 40 years go by and Lemmon now a successful businessman is on business in Naples and he's greeted in his hotel room by an old friend he doesn't recognize. Marcello Mastroianni is at first dismissed when Lemmon doesn't recognize him, but the picture he leaves of Lemmon and his sister does the trick.

With some trepidation Lemmon seeks out Mastroianni's family and finds the sister now a matronly grandmother. Naturally he was expecting some unknown offspring, but her's can all be attributed to the husband she later married.

Mastroianni is a dreamer and a dramatist of sorts. He's involved with what we would in America call a stock company as he writes and directs and stars in little dramas of his own. In one we see him as an Italian version of Snidely Whiplash. And he's created a whole drama around Lemmon as he wrote letters in Lemmon's name recounting a life that some pulp fiction hero would have envied. You can imagine Lemmon's reaction when he learns of his other life.

Pretty soon Lemmon is sucked into the family and as things aren't going well in his personal life in America, he's soon involved with the whole family. The end however is bitter sweet.

Macaroni is essentially a two person film with no real flushing out of any of the other characters played by actors and actresses unknown to American audiences. Lemmon and Mastroianni are good together though nothing like Lemmon and Matthau, but who was?

It's an easy to take film goes better with a glass of red wine.

Tonight I had much to study and very little feeling for my books. I watched this film instead: I vaguely remembered it had a poor IMDb rating, but I decided to give it a chance anyway. I'm so glad I did! I found out a delightful bitter-sweet comedy, with some good laughs and a few touching moments as well. To be true the plot about the depressed American businessman who comes to Italy and discovers the enjoyment of life has been heard before and could seem sometimes predictable, but has its great moments; the score is rather charming too. Marcello and Jack are a magnificent paring. This film is vastly and wrongfully underrated. I can't believe it's only rated 6.1: it would deserve much more. I highly recommend it to anybody loves truly great artists like Lemmon and Mastroianni.