PRINTMovie Review: To Rome with Love
Love proves to be too strong of a word
Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
July 12, 2012 | 11:08 a.m. CST
Woody Allen must not know the true meaning of love. His film, To Rome with Love, sparks nothing more than a desire to return to a boring life — or is that the point?
For almost two hours, viewers are cued into the not-so-charmed lives of four main characters that all happen to be in the same city, Rome, with no connection. From the title one would guess a common theme to be love, but this isn’t the case. On the contrary, the only attraction felt in the film is between suffering men and their “mates.” Whether it’s the newlywed husband being advised by a gifted prostitute or the retired father-in-law nursing his career back to life, the movie is made up of disloyal and desperate actions.
Related MovieAlthough there are big name actors featured in the anticlimactic film, they don’t fill their typical roles. Alec Baldwin served as the voice of reason for a younger version of himself while Ellen Page gave off a sexual vibe as the best friend with a hot name. No one will forget Penelope Cruz playing the tightly dressed playboy bunny type. And then there was the writer and director, Woody Allen himself, the white-haired comedic relief needed to keep the audience from twiddling their thumbs.
By the conclusion, spectators learn celebrity is glamorous to the average person, but if roles were to reverse, like most people wish, there would be chaos and complications. Woody Allen makes these two opposing kinds of characters comparable, but Rome is just the setting and Italian only the language. Yes, there are subtitles, so don’t doze off.
Audience members can identify with the average persona the characters embrace by the end of the movie. For some the famous might trump the ordinary, but for most it just won’t make the cut.
Vox Rating:
