Movie with Abe: To Rome with Love

To Rome with Love
Directed by Woody Allen
Released June 22, 2012

Woody Allen is back with his annual summer release, continuing his world tour by visiting the city of Rome this year. “To Rome with Love” is most clearly a love letter to an endearing city, featuring a handful of memorable characters living unconnected lives. Without the magic of nostalgic time travel in Paris, it’s a typical Allen film probing relationships full of infidelity, generally uneven with some plotlines resonating more than others, ultimately just as fleeting as it is funny. Even a forgettable Allen movie, however, isn’t bad, and this one has a lot of great moments that may not necessarily resonate after the film is finished.

As he has done recently, Allen has searched the world of up-and-coming young actors and found several to spotlight in his film. He’s even gone international, bringing the lovely Italian actress Alessandra Mastronardi in as a naïve young woman enchanted by the opportunity to meet famous Italian actors. Jesse Eisenberg and Ellen Page are obvious choices after their initial breakout roles and subsequent successes, and Allen also features independent film stars Greta Gerwig and Alison Pill, two lesser-known but equally talented actresses. Proven thespians Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, and Alec Baldwin round out the cast, and Allen even throws in a bit of nostalgia by casting himself and Judy Davis as members of the older generation.

“To Rome with Love” suffers from a severe lack of focus, employing a large ensemble with unconnected threads that aren’t ever meant to be sewn up. Two particularly amusing plotlines, one which finds Baldwin giving advice to Eisenberg, clearly meant to be his younger self, and the other, which showcases Benigni as a newfound celebrity famous for being ordinary, are not tethered to reality but seemingly meant to be taken as literally as the rest of the film’s events. Allen’s attempt to get his future son-in-law’s father to sing opera and Mastronardi’s cinematic escapades are wild but far more logical, especially considering Allen’s filmography and the types of characters he has tended to write.

Fortunately, Allen continues to be endearing at age 76, and he’s found a positive place for himself in front of the camera as an older version of his token characters, so neurotic and obsessed with his own ideas that he can barely hear anyone else. His characters, however unconnected and unmemorable, are delightful, or distasteful, depending on what purpose they’re meant to serve, while they appear on screen. Benigni is particularly charming, and Eisenberg, Page, Gerwig, and Pill all spew Allen’s signature analytical dialogue with profound expertise. With non-diegetic narration and affairs aplenty, “To Rome with Love” is explicitly recognizable as an Allen venture, and though it’s hardly his best, it’s still a blast while it lasts.

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Tuesday’s Top Trailer: To Rome with Love

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

To Rome with Love – Opening June 22, 2012



This preview for Woody Allen’s latest film came out last week. In many ways, it looks like a typical Allen film, transplanted to Rome after recent trips to Paris, London, and Barcelona, but there’s not nearly as much about infidelity as has been included in other trailers for Allen films. I’m sure there’s a whole lot in there, however, and I imagine much of the romance in the film will be multigenerational. Allen hasn’t starred in one of his films in six years, “Scoop” being his last appearance, and he looks and sounds the same now, though he’s clearly much older and tends to speak a little bit slower. Penelope Cruz returns after her Oscar-winning turn in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” to play another crazy lady, and she’s joined by a host of newbies to the Allen repertoire. The cast is diverse, including Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, and Greta Gerwig. Roberto Benigni’s accidental celebrity seems particularly entertaining, and I’m glad to see him in a role that should be befitting his talents. This trailer looks whimsical and fun, not necessarily taking itself too seriously, and there’s great music as well to accompany the scenes in the trailer. I didn’t love “Midnight in Paris,” so I’d be thrilled to see a great Allen film that defies his traditional conventions and emphasizes his other strengths.