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Critics feared the worst when word surfaced that re-shoots, re-writes and re-edits for this much-delayed, much-troubled film were still going on as late as May 2010 - barely seven weeks prior to its scheduled release. Pre-screenings were limited, and thumbs were primed to point down. But guess what? The finished product is surprisingly enjoyable - particularly the rollicking first hour. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are obviously having a blast, and anytime they are on screen, the movie's energy and fun level pegs the meter. The break-neck pace can keep the audience guessing about where Cruise's character is dragging Diaz's reluctant heroine off to next. Kudos to the leads for not carrying the movie with their effervescent acting, but also for doing many of their own stunts.

Even though you know what's coming, bring a hankie or two. The women are gorgeous (and some of the men) and wise. The men need a little schooling in the art of love, except for Lorenzo - another of those Italian caricatures who seems transformed into flesh and blood from Carrara marble. The real surprise here is how little of the movie was actually filmed in or around Verona, Italy. Where was it filmed? Mostly at a glorious inn a bit north of Siena, and around the hill town of Montalcino, which is farther south - all in Tuscany. The film is really something of an infomercial for the large Caparzo winery and their various tourist properties. On that level, the movie succeeds brilliantly. The men who are dragged to see it will be fascinated to see where Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino are grown. The women, however, will want to be taken back to Verona (literally and figuratively) to find out if Juliet's house, balcony, wall and statue really exist (they do, although she didn't). And what about the secretaries? They exist, and they really do answer letters. Each year, in fact, they choose the preceding year's best and bestow a prize. Wonder if that's how this movie was really inspired?