Under the Tuscan Sun (B or 3/4 stars)
'Under the Tuscan Sun' (directed by Audrey Wells & loosely adapted from the book, Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy by Frances Mayes) is a movie locked in the pleasant, pretty, sometimes goofy, sometimes serious, gooey romantic/comedy genre. That sounds a bit much, doesn’t it? I have my issues with this film, but performance-wise and aesthetically, I actually enjoyed this movie a great deal more than I should have.
Frances (Diane Lane) has found out that her husband cheated on her & makes the decision to divorce him. Because her life as an author becomes less satisfying of late, and because she is depressed, her good friend, Patti (Sandra Oh) gives her a ticket to get away from it all and enjoy a Tuscan vacation on a gay tour (Patti is gay and decides not to go on the tour). Reluctantly, Frances accepts. In Tuscany, she finds a run-down Villa and decides almost immediately to buy it. Her life in San Francisco was that bad that she decided to just 'escape' -- the images of Tuscany in this film are absolutely beautiful. After she moves in, she enlists the help of Illegal Polish workers to spruce up her Villa.
One of the goofy scenes I spoke of earlier is one where Frances cooks a HUGE dinner for them. The scene is mildly adorable, but there's no way she could have whipped up the dinner & presented it in the way she did; no way. Frances is a loner, but finds a companion in Katherine (Lindsay Duncan). You can accept her as ridiculous or fanciful, it's a choice at this point. I find her somewhere in the middle ... enticingly weird. Because Frances is now divorced, she is a free agent. She finds a romance with Marcello (Raoul Bova). Her pursuit of his love is priceless & endearing. However, it goes a bit too far with the romance concept -- too dreamy, too perfect, too 'gooey'. Some folks go for that, I wanted to, but didn’t quite this time.
The end of the film does little to salvage the overwhelming gooey-ness. What happens is nice enough, but also gives an air of 'well, that came from left field', and then the credits rolled. What I DID enjoy was Diane Lane. She carries this film. Her natural charisma & acting skills brings this movie to life. Her nuances (rolling eyes, biting her lips, sighs, flicks of hair, brilliant smile, etc.) make her the amazing actress that she is. She brought that same quality to last year's Unfaithful. That film, along with this one, is weaker in plot, but better overall films because of Lane's performance.
Unless you're an action nut, it is easy to like, if not love an escapist romantic flick like this one. You escape to a fantastic locale, you escape your own world, and you enter Frances' for 102 genial minutes. It is the kind of film that you will want to buy & pop in to the DVD/VCR player on a Sunday afternoon to 'veg' out and relax. 'Under the Tuscan Sun' brings many smiles to your face. That said, it also made mine cringe, at times.
Frances (Diane Lane) has found out that her husband cheated on her & makes the decision to divorce him. Because her life as an author becomes less satisfying of late, and because she is depressed, her good friend, Patti (Sandra Oh) gives her a ticket to get away from it all and enjoy a Tuscan vacation on a gay tour (Patti is gay and decides not to go on the tour). Reluctantly, Frances accepts. In Tuscany, she finds a run-down Villa and decides almost immediately to buy it. Her life in San Francisco was that bad that she decided to just 'escape' -- the images of Tuscany in this film are absolutely beautiful. After she moves in, she enlists the help of Illegal Polish workers to spruce up her Villa.
One of the goofy scenes I spoke of earlier is one where Frances cooks a HUGE dinner for them. The scene is mildly adorable, but there's no way she could have whipped up the dinner & presented it in the way she did; no way. Frances is a loner, but finds a companion in Katherine (Lindsay Duncan). You can accept her as ridiculous or fanciful, it's a choice at this point. I find her somewhere in the middle ... enticingly weird. Because Frances is now divorced, she is a free agent. She finds a romance with Marcello (Raoul Bova). Her pursuit of his love is priceless & endearing. However, it goes a bit too far with the romance concept -- too dreamy, too perfect, too 'gooey'. Some folks go for that, I wanted to, but didn’t quite this time.
The end of the film does little to salvage the overwhelming gooey-ness. What happens is nice enough, but also gives an air of 'well, that came from left field', and then the credits rolled. What I DID enjoy was Diane Lane. She carries this film. Her natural charisma & acting skills brings this movie to life. Her nuances (rolling eyes, biting her lips, sighs, flicks of hair, brilliant smile, etc.) make her the amazing actress that she is. She brought that same quality to last year's Unfaithful. That film, along with this one, is weaker in plot, but better overall films because of Lane's performance.
Unless you're an action nut, it is easy to like, if not love an escapist romantic flick like this one. You escape to a fantastic locale, you escape your own world, and you enter Frances' for 102 genial minutes. It is the kind of film that you will want to buy & pop in to the DVD/VCR player on a Sunday afternoon to 'veg' out and relax. 'Under the Tuscan Sun' brings many smiles to your face. That said, it also made mine cringe, at times.