To Rome with Love

"To Rome with Love" is a fantasy film; a comedy about people living out their fantasies. The great thing about it is that it's subtle enough that you don't recognize the fantasy element in all of the relationships until later on in the film. The obvious one is when native Roman, Leopoldo Pisanello (Roberto Benigni), becomes a celebrity over night. "It's better to be a celebrity than an unknown." And as Benigni shows, way funnier too.

It's the type of film where everybody gets to see themselves as famous, or supremely interesting, or a guiding angel, or married to a hooker, or the object of a movie star's affections, or on a romantic rendezvous with a thief, or having the ability to change the world with one simple idea. It will take you to wherever your heart desires. And then you'll realize why it's often advised to think with your brain rather than with your heart.

Half Italian and half English, we follow two relationships involving Romans and two relationships with Americans in Rome. A young, Italian, married couple get separated and the young man finds himself living out every other young man's fantasies while the young woman finds herself living out her own fantasies.

Hayley (Alison Pill), a New Yorker transplanted in Rome, falls in love and gets engaged to a successful Roman lawyer. Her parents (Woody Allen and Judy Davis) make the trek across the ocean to meet their in-laws. But Allen's obsession with death and equating retirement with death causes him to create a national disaster (or success story, depending on how you look at it).

Jack (Jesse Eisenberg) is an American architect living in Rome with his girlfriend. First he meets his architecture idol, John (Alec Baldwin), who sees Jack as the younger version of himself. Or more accurately, Jack sees John as the older version of himself (the joke works better that way). Then Jack meets Monica (Ellen Page) who is his girlfriend's best friend and is the object of all men's fantasies.

Page also gets to play the role of the self-obsessed, pseudo-intellectual — commonly referred to as "the pedantic one" in most Woody Allen movies. Other than Allen himself, Eisenberg and Baldwin play a sort of tag-team version of the self-deprecating, neurotic hero, although this time with a touch of confidence.

Confidence is not to be confused with optimism because as funny as "To Rome with Love" is, it also has Allen's usual undertone of pessimism. Death is going to come sooner than you would like, but not soon enough. And even if you do get to live out your heart's fantasies, they may not lead to everything that you hoped for. This film is the comedy version of death and negativity, and can provide you with the simple joys in life.

"To Rome with Love" is a fantastic and beautiful movie by none other than Woody Allen. All of his movies are about cute, funny and complex love stories happening at the same time in one location. In this film in particular, you have four love stories happening at the same time in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. A great cast starring Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni and Allen himself. Along with other good actors all do a great job together. We as the viewers who try to understand Allen's movies most of the time can see his elements repeating themselves again in this film such as: the love affairs amongst the characters, the long filming of the locations, the beauty of life shown that not everything can be achieved, how the characters are left with his/her loved ones, how all stories end with a closed ending, etc. Personally I always enjoy Allen's movies and kind of hoped this one wouldn't end so quickly, something about all the plot points during the movie were really compelling. When I saw on the page of the film the rating it got. I just couldn't understand why people can't appreciate Allen's movies nowadays? Is it that hard to enjoy a romance movie these days? In rome?

For most of the past decade Woody Allen has been revisiting old themes in new places. He writes a witty script, hires a good cameramen, has great actors flock to him because he writes great lines for them and directs the film efficiently. So we have travel vistas that he has even been putting the city's name in, like VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, MIDNIGHT IN Paris and now the Fellini-esque TO ROME WITH LOVE.

If you get the idea that I look down on these efforts, let me say I enjoy them very much. Mr. Allen has reached an age and ability in his craft where he can do things easily and smoothly, so that the three farces that make up this anthology set in the Eternal City offer some wonderful excuses to show off the city. My favorite is the one about Roberto Benigni, an ordinary man who suddenly finds himself a celebrity upon whom the media hang. His bewilderment is a lovely, comic performance. However, if you prefer the one about the retired record producer who makes the machetunim an opera sensation in the shower or the the one about the young temptress, that's fine too.

While not great Woody Allen – it's neither profound, moving nor funny enough for that title, it is quite enjoyable.

The film is made up of four intercut short stories, that share little other than the fact they're set in Rome. Some have fantasy elements, some are more absurdist, others more straightforward character farce.

But somehow, though they don't make much of a logical grouping, the whole thing is lighthearted and fun enough that it seems grumpy to pick on it.

Sure some jokes fall flat and some ideas seem unfulfilled, but a lot of it is wonderfully acted and cleverly written. And at a time when so many comedies are aimed only at 15 year olds, even 2nd tier Woody, simply telling playfully comic tales, is a welcome sight.

We have seen Woody Allen's multiple love letters to New York City, London, Barcelona, and Paris; now he sets his satirical eye on the ancient city of Rome. Starting halfway through the previous decade, Woody Allen altered his standard oeuvre from mostly comedic farce with a dash of autobiographical drama set amongst towering New York skyscrapers to films set in major European centers where the city itself is almost its own character. Barcelona nudged its way into the love triangle of Vicky Christina Barcelona and Paris's nightclubs and streets were a central character along with Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein in Midnight in Paris. In To Rome with Love, Woody is even less subtle about his intentions by loudly proclaiming in the film's title what he is up to.

There are multiple stories entering and exiting the stage with even more characters; however, unlike the majority of films which juggle numerous plot lines, these do not intersect; they exist by themselves and involve their own unique Roman characteristics. There is John (Alec Baldwin) who chooses to retrace his former life as a young man in Rome 30 years ago and ends up having a very interesting encounter with Jack (Jesse Eisenberg), Sally (Greta Gerwig), and the flippant Monica (Ellen Page). John has seen it all before and sets himself up as a Greek Chorus variant to the younger crowd. By the end of their section, every man in the audience over 30 should be nodding their heads in agreement about the Sally vs. Monica pros and cons. Their love triangle is a convenient excuse to insert the ancient ruins and architecture which you knew must fit somewhere in the film.

Hayley (Alison Pill) is in her early 20s and fulfills one of the ultimate lost tourist clichés in Rome; she bumps into Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti), falls in love, and decides to spend the rest of her life in Italy. Upon hearing the news, Hayley's parents, Phyllis (Judy Davis) and Jerry (Allen), jet over to Rome to meet this guy and survey the situation. In his typical Woody Allen way, Jerry has a lot to say about the turbulence on the flight over, sizes up Michelangelo as a Communist, and can barely stand the irony that Michelangelo's father, Giancarlo (Fabio Armiliato), is an undertaker. Leave it to Woody to be able to fit his absolute phobia of death and all its accompaniments into a film about Rome. This particular film segment uses Roman opera as its backdrop with a very clever farce involving singing in the shower.

The most blatant comedic segment in the film is Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni). He is just a regular working stiff who wakes up at the same time every morning, eats his toast, goes to work, engages in water cooler talk, and comes home. One day, Leopoldo starts getting chased by obsessive paparazzi and screaming autograph seekers wherever he goes who want to know what he likes on his toast, how he shaves, and whether he is a boxers or briefs man. There is no reason for his sudden fame explosion which confuses Leopoldo all the more. This also confused the old ladies sitting next to me; however, this was a brilliant way for Allen to skewer the celebrity fetish. Some people are famous for just being famous even though they have accomplished absolutely nothing.

It seems Woody Allen used his most recent European love letter to fit in some messages he has had stirring around his brain for a little bit. He tackles the odd fascination with know- and do-nothing celebrities, the appeal of going after the vapid and attractive female even though you know she is ridiculous and it will only end badly, and what I suppose is a critique of not being a prude at the beginning of marriage. Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) and Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) have just arrived in Rome after their wedding to start their new life. Through a silly and contrived sequence of events which only serve to set up a ridiculous situation, Antonio winds up with a stunningly gorgeous prostitute, Anna (Penelope Cruz), and Milly winds up tempted by her most favorite actor in the world. This particular part of the film does not work too well but it does provide plenty of laughs as inappropriately clad Anna visits the Vatican.

To Rome with Love is not among the top tier of Woody Allen's decade long infatuation with filming in European locales (Midnight in Paris) but it is certainly not the worst (Scoop). Weaving in and out of these disconnected plot lines is fun and most of them are quite enjoyable. Using Rome and all of its wonderful settings to tie all of his characters together easily helps out what will most likely become one of the more middle of the road and average Wood Allen pictures. However, it is worth noting than an average Woody Allen film is head and shoulders above what is playing down the street in your local multiplex right now.