To Rome with Love
Starring: Antonio Albanese, Woody Allen, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz and Alec BaldwinDirector: Woody Allen
Genre: Romantic comedy
Running time: 112 minutes
Showing at Cineplex Cinema
If you love comedy and a little drama then you might like To Rome with Love. The setting is in one of the world’s most enchanting cities, Rome and takes its story from an established American architect who wants to enjoy his youth once more.
It stars the director Woody Allen. He brings on the tales of sex, celebrity and married life.
To Rome with Love takes some of its themes from films that were popular in Italy 50 years ago when Allen started thriving in his movie career.
The movie has four main plots. There is an official who wakes up to find himself a celebrity, an architect who takes a trip back to the street he lived on as a student, a young couple on their honeymoon, and a funeral director who has a talent for singing in the shower.
The Observer’s Phillip French says, “Not all the jokes come off, and sometimes one can hear the gun being cocked and the hammer falling on a detonator that fails to work. But mostly this segment is very engaging, and its armature is a vintage show business joke about the brilliant tenor who can only sing in the shower.”
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw almost agrees, “There is some fun to be had with all the discomfiture and unease; but some of the jokes and situations simply don’t work.”
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 45 percent based on reviews from 51 critics.
To Rome with love changed titles three times. First Allen named it Bop Decameron, a reference to the 14th century book by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio. He was advised that Italians would not understand the reference so he changed the title to Nero Fiddles. This did not work either so he settled for a simpler title To Rome with Love, although he has stated that he hates this title.
