Best movie ever!

As Good As It Gets

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I'm currently studying Italian and in yesterday's class we got to see a movie, an Italian one of course, for the very first time. The choice of my teacher was SCUSA MA TI CHIAMO AMORE, a completely unknown movie for me. Remember when some years ago filmmaker Quentin Tarantino said that "new Italian cinema is just depressing"? Well, I can't say I'm with Quentin since I don't know much about new Italian cinema (or Italian cinema in general, but hey, at least I recently got the Fernando Di Leo crime collection on Blu-Ray!), but I simply recalled what he said because this movie made me think something like this: "having tons of great Italian films, what was my teacher thinking when she decided to go with this one?" It was Italian class and the whole point of watching a film was just to hear people speaking in Italian, so obviously we could have some truly great and interesting stuff. I remember that when both my sister and my cousin were studying Italian they said to me that a Roberto Benigni film (I think it was IL MOSTRO) was shown at a class. So instead of having some Benigni, we watched this modern romantic film; it might be modern since it's from 2008, but its storyline is just the f****** same thing we all have seen countless times before. Criticizing a movie for its clichéd story is certainly a cliché itself, but I think it's necessary to point out how predictable SCUSA MA TI CHIAMO AMORE is. You are like 15 minutes into it and you just know each and every damn thing. It's also a cliché to say that this thing of having a tired storyline would really not matter if the movie gives you something else that's just great. As you can tell by my rating, with this there's nothing much that stand out. It tries to be funny, both in a straight and romantic way, but I didn't laugh nor find a memorable romantic side. It's simply ridiculous, with cheap stuff like having the two main characters meeting and getting along after being involved in a traffic collision. Or what about when the girl gets all of the sudden involved in the work issues of the guy (who is 20 years older than her)? It's soap opera stuff. Also, there's a problem with the minor characters; for instance, when the happy ending of an apparent subplot comes, out of nowhere, to the screen I was just like "who are these characters? And why should I care about them?" For me this is weak writing, and editing too; the film is full of phrases about love (by people like William Shakespeare and Pablo Neruda) and sometimes we have them on the screen out of nowhere as well. In few words: when the only thing that interests you of an Italian movie is that it is spoken in Italian, something is very wrong. *Watched it on March 24, 2012

I couldn't really find one word with which to sum up this movie. I would opt for predictable, but aside from the ending, I personally was not able to predict the direction (or deviations)of this story. Similarly, the words 'Sappy' or 'Cliche' cannot be so easily applied to this movie due to one huge, contributing factor in the story: the age gap between protagonists. 'Scusa Ma Ti Chiamo Amore' or 'Sorry, If I Love You' tells the story of one 37 year old man who has been left by his long-term girlfriend. Through a series of events, he encounters a 17 year old girl. The two are both very much attracted to each other and after mere days of meeting, begin a relationship. The relationship is more than just mutual lust, and the two soon become a somewhat unconventional but very much committed couple. If you remove the age gap between characters, this movie does become a very boring and 'been-there-done-that' cliché. But it's not. It's a sweet story of an unconventional relationship (which may have been shocking years ago, but now seems to be becoming socially acceptable). It's also a cute and at times genuinely funny flick to pass the afternoon with. I would recommend this as a light, albeit very interesting story with a somewhat unoriginal story line which is made unique by various twists and turns.

There are a large number of characters moving in and out of the story brought to the screen, and directed by Federico Moccia. Having been given the DVD as a gift, we tried to watch it a few times, but could not get into it. Finally, we decided to persevere, basically on the strength of Raoul Bova's performance, and it turned out to be a mildly pleasant experience, although one wonders what made it such a hit when it first made it commercial debut in Italy.The idea of a May-December romance is not exactly new to the movies. In fact, Hollywood is notorious for pairing its aging male stars with younger, luscious newcomers to some excellent results. "Sabrina", "Love in the Afternoon", "Gigi", "Funny Face", just to mention a few, as well as other films, exploited the possibility of an older man falling for women that could well be their daughters. Never quite understood the allure for the mismatched couples other that the aging male stars needed vehicles in which to show they were still desirable and could perform in bed. Of course the comparison is a bit extreme because in this film, even with the age difference, Alessandro and Niki make a nice couple to look at.Mr. Moccia's story centers around an advertising executive, Alessandro Belli, being dumped by his live in companion, Elena. Confused about being left alone, he avoids the idea of falling in love again. A traffic accident involving Niki, a teen ager in a motorcycle, serves as the excuse to have them meet. Alessandro is aware of the attraction, but he fights it. For Niki, obviously the older man presents no problem. Niki, a liberal minded young woman, has no problem seducing the reluctant Alessandro, in spite of the twenty year age difference. The comedy is mildly amusing. Mr. Moccia manages to keep things moving around at a good pace. The only question in our mind is how permissive the parents of Niki can be. The new generations of youngsters, all over the world, seem to be able to do what they want, if one is to believe the way the parents of Niki are so self involved in themselves, not to notice how their daughter's affair with the older Alessandro is not exactly what they wanted for her.Raoul Bova is an accomplished comedy actor and his presence is always welcome. Michela Quattrociocche is a beautiful newcomer to the Italian cinema. Both were reunited by the director in another film we have not seen, but it might be a sequel, based on the popularity of this film in its native land.

The Italians have a great reputation in the comedy department. I spend great part of the year in Italy and I've seen the work of Dino Risi, Pietro Germi and some other geniuses. This film doesn't belong to the same universe. Not for a long, long, long shot. Filmed indifferently, based on a popular teen age volume that one has to make an effort to imagine what the book was like. The film was directed by the author so I'm sure he was religiously faithful to the source. The dullness of this "romantic comedy" makes one wonder. The film is a top grossing box office champ in Italy. I keep wondering, why? There is nothing in it that would allure audiences anywhere. A 37 year old in a love relationship with a 17 year old. He looks over 37 and behaves like a teen ager. She looks older than 17 and behaves like a brat. What an unwholesome combination. He, Raoul Bova is in big star in his own country but his appeal eludes me completely. He is the most boring presence in the screen. So, the Los Angeles/Italia Festival at the Chinese Theater of Hollywood Boulevard started, as far as I'm concerned, with a dud of major proportions. Let's hope it improves.