The 4th Tenor

This is a very predictable romantic comedy. Although he is the main character, we see very little of the Rodney we have come to know and love. We see so little of Vincent Schiavelli, its hard to tell its him. The operatic ingenue-diva, early on, is certainly fetchingly sensual, but her portrayal of a devious wench is unconvincing by any measure. Generally, the acting by all parties is tepid.

There are a few beautiful landscapes of Italy in the movie; watch for them. Sadly, most of the action is shot on a soundstage.

The operatic elements are wonderful, but all too short. The fans of opera will play this soundtrack over and over, and use the DVD as a coaster for their iced latte.

Lose the DVD, save the Soundtrack.

Do you find Rodney Dangerfield amusing? Would you like to see an entertaining Dangerfield film? Then avoid THE 4TH TENOR. It is a pitiful vanity project where Rodney generally neglects his strengths and wallows in sickening bathos.

As a prosperous Italian restaurant owner named Lupo, Dangerfield falls in love with a young luscious singer Gina (Annabelle Gurwitch). She doesn't return his affections, especially since Lupo can't sing opera. So he goes to Italy to take opera lessons. There, he meets a sweet local girl named Rosa (Anita De Simone) and learns the secret of great singing. Will Lupo find true love? Who really cares?

Part of the problem with THE 4TH TENOR is that Dangerfield is far less interested in generating laughs than in endearing himself to his audience. Rarely does he spew his customary one-liners. Instead he spends an awful lot of time acting lovelorn and wistful. But his strivings for sentimentality are so humorless and effortful, he becomes embarrassingly cloying. Even more disturbing is the concept of the geriatric, physically homely Dangerfield romancing women young enough to be his granddaughters. Part of the appeal in Dangerfield's stand-up act was that he acknowledged he was ugly and therefore unsuccessful with women. If he wanted to be a romantic lead in his dotage, why couldn't Rodney pursue women his own age?

The pedestrian supporting cast cannot enliven the dreary material. They are the type of bland performers you'd expect in a film deemed too poor for theatrical release.

THE 4TH TENOR is truly a morbid experience. One watches an embalmed looking man who, in attempting to touch our hearts, dies in the course of his performance, a once bright star whose career has been dying. If this is the best Rodney can offer, it's time for him to retire.

I saw this movie on TV tonight and I really enjoyed it, even though I'm not a big fan of opera. Rodney Dangerfield was brilliant as Lupo, with his sharp wit and decent nature. It's quite a shame that he's not here anymore. What I also liked, is that everything worked out just great in the end. There were also some attractive women in T4thT, namely Gina (Annabelle Gurwitch) and Rosa (Anita De Simone). The whole wine thing was pretty interesting as well. If there's some soft drink of some sort (as I'm not too keen on anything alcohol-ish) to make a guy more attractive to women or a good sportsman, someone should let me know (ha-ha-ha)(big laugh). I would recommend this movie to most people, and I would certainly like to watch it again.

Even though I'm a huge Rodney Dangerfield fan, I never had the chance to see this film until today since it was in limited release theatrically and the DVD is surprisingly hard to find. Now I know why: the flick just isn't any good. Dangerfield tries his best, but he can't save the uninspired directing (this was director Harry Basil's feature debut and it shows), poor production values, and sluggish pacing. The supporting cast of the usually reliable Annabelle Gurwitch, Robert Davi, and Charles Fleischer is disappointing with each given little to do. However, the first twenty minutes or so are quite funny with Dangerfield's signature quips popping up almost non-stop. Once Dangerfield starts singing, the viewing experience becomes a drag. The 4th Tenor is easily Dangerfield's worst. Basil also directed Dangerfield in Back by Midnight,a much better collaboration between the two. 3/10

totally predictable and really cheap movie in every way but one and that's opera. lovely opera, lovely arias and everything else becomes lovely that would otherwise stink. some genuinely good jokes, however, which merits another 2 stars.

lovely scenery, lovely italy, lovely....further enforces the extra 2 stars.

And then we have Rodney Dangerfield, who seems to be unable to do anything wrong. That man has funny-bones for sure.

The story here is ridiculous but who cares? For anyone who hates opera this film is a disaster but for us opera-lovers or, should I say "aria-lovers" (because a long opera with no good arias is some serious pain in the ... whatever).

The only bad film I've seen with Rodney Dangerfield so far is "The Godson" and that was with Dom DeLuise as well! Strange movie that one - everybody looked as if they would rather be sleeping.

Here everybody looks as if they would rather be in Italy and I do not blame them.