To Rome With Love opened in Western New York while I was in Rehab. We finally caught up with Woody Allen’s latest film and came away with mixed feelings. The movie has four couples whose love gets tested. Two of the plots are silly: a man who has a wonderful operatic voice can only sing in the shower. Woody Allen, playing a retired music executive (a mistake), talks the singer into performing on stage…in a shower. Not funny. Another plot, about an average man who suddenly becomes a media sensation, is also lame. The third plot is about two newly weds is goofy, but Penelope Cruz is in that segment so I’ll watch anything with her on the screen. The most enjoyable plot features Alec Baldwin as a Greek Chorus as Jesse Eisenberg decides to cheat on his girl friend with Ellen Page. This is not one of Woody’s stronger efforts. GRADE: B-
Completely agree. I would place in the fourth of five groupings. He never really got the vibe of Rome, I think. And these are tired ideas.
I got more of Rome with Tom Hanks in ANGLES & DEMONS than TO ROME WITH LOVE, Patti. You’re right, Woody never captured the vibe of Rome.
It was no MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, that’s for sure. I liked Penelope Cruz and Alec Baldwin the best too. The thing with Woody and the opera singer was bad. I thought he was terrible, his timing was off in every scene. I did like Judy Davis as his wife. There were a couple of amusing bits in the Robert Benigni stuff but it got old fast.
And I liked Ellen Page at lot, too, Jeff. Judy Davis needed more to do and say.
We were planning to see this, if only for the Rome setting (Joe isn’t a huge Woody Allen fan). Maybe I’ll have to rethink this one.
I’d wait for the DVD, Beth. Then you can fast-forward through the tedious scenes.
That singing in the shower bit sounds like a variation of an episode of THE SIMPSONS when Homer became an opera singer but could only sing while lying on his back.
Sounds similar to Woody’s opera singer’s handicap, Ray. I’m sure the Homer situation was way funnier than the one in TO ROME WITH LOVE.
It does get pretty ridiculous when they wheel a shower out on stage and he soaps up for the entire Pagliacci.
Exactly, Jeff! You would think the guy’s skin would pucker up after a couple hours of showering.
Sounds awful, but then that’s how I’d probably describe every Allen movie for the last two or three decades. I’d rather go to the dentist than watch an Allen movie. Really.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is well worth a look, Rick. But you’re right about Woody’s output being uneven.
Although Allen’s least is usually superior to the average writer/director’s best, you’d think after 50 years that he could separate his wheat from his chaff.
Woody puts out a movie a year, Drongo. That method generates a lot of chaff.