not as good as all the hype

Excellent, a Must See

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

This film is of the zany humor variety. I have to say it took me a little while to get into the mood necessary to enjoy it.But once there ... a viewer will find an endless amount of material to be amused by... every detail in every set has meaning----well bizarreness is a better word.If you liked Blazing Saddles you will like this movie.If you find this phrase funny: Your wife has been found she is an accordion player in a florists shop...you will like this movie.Unfortunately I am almost 60 now and a little of this kind of thing goes a long ways now.Also some of the zaniness is just a little too bizarre to be "effective"

If you're not prepared to loosen up, relax and surrender to Charm, Delight, Joy, Romance then you'd best give this one a miss. On the surface if's easy to drive a truck through the premise - second chance, finding happiness in middle age - and the treatment; why, for example, set a film in Venice and then virtually ignore the 'tourist' Venice for the Venice of campi and washing lines; a film in which all the main cast are oddballs (plumber-private eye, anyone) yet just this side of totally risible. There used to be in the theatre a cliché that certain shows were designed/tailored for the 'tired businessman' and if we can extend the genre to film then this is a prime example, designed for those tired of sex-and-violence, special effects, cgi, all those formulaic Police Academies, Nightmares On Elm Street, Chainsaw Massacres, Halloweens, American Pies etc. This is in the tradition of Marty, Come September, Summer Madness, where we are offered Real, Warm, people to care about/identify with, root for. A truly lovely film.

This is an enjoyable little Italian/Swiss production, that mostly gets carried by its characters.The movie is sweet, little and innocent. In other words, perfect harmless entertainment. The movie feels warm and sincere, this is due to the setting of the movie (Venice) and its characters, that are all far from perfect but because of that also very humane and in this case also enjoyably quirky at times.The movie is mostly comical with its characters. They are over-the-top but at the same time kept humane. It helps to make the movie an enjoyable one to watch and at the same time also keeps sure that the emotions of the movie feel real.The movie features a nice story in which a married mother escapes her normal everyday life after she has been forgotten during a vacation by the tour bus. She decides to take advantage of the situation by hitchhiking to Venic, the city she always wanted to visit. perhaps for the first time ever in her life she feels herself alive and home somewhere, where she really can be herself. She decides to stay for a day but the day soon becomes days and the days weeks.For a change the movie centrally features a love-story between 2 persons at age and not persons who are still in the prime of their life and are in their early 20's, or something. It's refreshing, dramatic more powerful and involving and in a way also sweeter.Licia Maglietta is a good leading lady for the movie. and she forms a good couple with Bruno Ganz, who is halve Swiss, halve Italian and by far has the best lines of the movie, that almost sound poetic like. The rest of the supporting actors are mainly for the fun but everyone does a good job at portraying them.The movie is however not the best made and constructed one. At times they simply choose not to show some of the dramatic responses and just cut away and goes forward in time or back to another location. In my opinion this is a sign of weakness of the film-maker's skills and it's also definitely due to the editing that the movie does not work out at all times.Nevertheless, you should be able to appreciate and enjoy watching this movie.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

This is a wry, witty Italian comedy with a underlying radical message I don't think the Vatican would approve. Licia Malietta stars as Rosalba Barletta a woman not enamored with either her macho, inconsiderate husband Mimmo Barletta (Antonio Catania) or her life as a housewife. On a vacation she is accidentally left behind in Venice, and then on a whim decides to stay for awhile. She needs to breathe free from the domination of her husband who sees her only as an asset and doesn't love her. Indeed he has a mistress.What she finds in Venice are new warm friends and a certain man, Fernando Girasoli (played with sly finesse by veteran Swiss-born actor Bruno Ganz), who speaks in poetic phrases but wants to hang himself. She also rediscovers a delight in life and the freedom to be herself and do what she wants to do, which includes playing the accordion and reading Mark Twain in bed. She finds a job in a flower shop, a small room, makes friends with the masseuse next door and feels alive for the first time in ages.Her husband sends a plumber he is about to hire to play detective, find her and bring her back, resulting in some light comedic episodes enriched by off-beat characters.Malietta is very winning in the part and certainly will serve as a heroine for frustrated housewives everywhere. Her desire is not for a fling or for physical thrills, rather her desire is to find herself as herself apart from her identification as wife and mother.I have hinted above at her eventual choice, but you will have to see this warm-hearted romantic comedy for yourself to find out what she chooses and why.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)