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Over the top, excessive, too much reliance on anonymous sexy young women for thrills…definitely an inferior work! Let’s hope it is not a trend.

I have been one of Sorrentino’s greatest fans. As I wrote in the review of A Great Beauty “I could watch this film over and over again and still be inspired by the beauty of Rome and the depth of its flaneur, the hero of this film, journalist Jep Gambardella as played by the incomparable Toni Servillo.”

Well Toni Servillo is still incomparable. His face is a smiley face mask which can momentarily change into the face of a tired old man. But he is a cardboard figure as he plays Berlusconi in his last days before his current resurrection as a member of EU Parliament. His wife Veronica Lario, played by Elena Sofia Ricci was the only real character with any depth.

"Sell them your dream of the future." IFC Films has unveiled an official trailer for the latest spectacle from Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, an epic political satire titled Loro. The film profiles the life of Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi, played by Toni Servillo, an "egomaniac billionaire Prime Minister who presides over an empire of scandal and corruption." Sounds scary, but it's described as a "ferocious feast of satire" with plenty of Sorrentino's spunk and extravagance. "Exploding with eye-popping, extravagantly surreal set-pieces, the dazzling, daring new film from Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino is both a wickedly subversive satire and a furious elegy for a country crumbling while its leaders enrich themselves." Also starring Riccardo Scamarcio as the young hustler trying to move closer to Berlusconi, plus Elena Sofia Ricci, Kasia Smutniak, Euridice Axen, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Roberto De Francesco, Dario Cantarelli, and Anna Bonaiuto. Worth a look. Here's the official Us...

Title: The Great Beauty Director: Paolo Sorrentino Starring: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte, Pamela Villoresi, Galatea Ranzi, Massimo de Francovich, Roberto Herlitzka, Isabella Ferrari, Franco Graziosi, Giorgio Pasotti, Massimo Popolizio, Sonia Gessner, Anna della Rosa, Luca Marinelli, Serena Grandi, Ivan Franek, Vernon Dobtcheff, Dario Cantarelli, Lillo Petrolo, Luciano Virgilio, Giusi Merli, Anita Kravos, Giulio Brogi, Fanny Ardant. From the 30s to the 60s Italian Cinema was known worldwide, acclaimed, praised and represented a model of beauty. Today very few Italian movie directors have managed to establish themselves beyond their mother country, genuinely moving audiences and critics. The Neapolitan Paolo Sorrentino in these past few years has  [ Read More ]

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"The Best Man" (Il Testimone dello Sposa) is a sometimes charming fairy tale about love set in the tradition-laden end of the 19th century. The feature, showcased at the Berlin Film Festival, has a few magical moments, but its slow pace makes this pretty love story a risky bet when it comes to boxoffice returns.

Italian star Diego Abatantuono ("Mediterraneo") plays the closed-mouthed, macho Angelo, who returns to Italy after making his fortune in America to serve as best man at a friend's wedding on New Year's Eve 1899. The bride in this arranged marriage is the stunningly beautiful Francesca (Ines Sastre), but she is not attracted to her groom, Edgardo (Dario Cantarelli), and pines for true love.

When Francesca's eyes meet Angelo's at the altar, it's love at first sight, but she has already said "I do", and the evening that follows is a disaster.

Francesca is torn between admitting her newfound love and hiding it to protect her family, and her mother (Valeria D'Obici) is sent into a tailspin trying to control the damage. (To make matters worse, Francesca's father is in debt to Edgardo).

The most charming parts of the film are director-screenwriter Pupi Avati's observations of the family's and neighbors' quirky social interaction and of the sometimes superstitious Catholic-influenced wedding traditions of the time.

But those moments don't come as fast as they should, the dialogue is not witty enough, and the mishaps are not as funny as they should be. Worse, we are never sure whether Angelo shares Francesca's feelings, a serious flaw in the film.

THE BEST MAN (Il Testimone dello Sposa)

Luigi & Aurelio De Laurentiis and Antonio Avati present

a Filmauro/Duea Film production

Director-screenwriter: Pupi Avati

Producers: Aurelio De Laurentiis, Antonio Avati

Director of photography: Pasquale Rachini

Production designers: Alberto Cottignoli,

Steno Tonelli

Costume designer: Vittoria Guaita

Editor: Amedeo Salfa

Music: Riz Ortolani

Cast:

Angelo: Diego Abatantuono

Francesca: Ines Sastre

Edgardo: Dario Cantarelli

Peppina: Cinzia Mascoli

Olimpia: Valeria D'Obici

Manlio: Toni Santagata...