"To Rome with Love" is Woody Allen's latest directorial and written effort as well as acting. Set in Rome, the film is made up of four separate stories that do not have a connection to each other. There's a clerk who wakes up to find himself a celebrity, an architect who takes a trip to his old neighborhood, a honeymooning couple caught up in a case of mistaken identity, and a funeral director with a hidden talent for singing but only in the shower.
I like this film overall but felt that it's uneven in that some of the storylines and acting make some parts stronger than others. The result is that the film comes across as a little disjointed. For example, I really enjoyed the clerk-turned-celebrity story because the talented Roberto Benigni is our lucky clerk. Benigni really shines and makes the most of every moment on camera. The honeymooning couple story is a little dull though Penelope Cruz steals that story with her role as Anna, a call girl. The architect story is a little confusing as it appears that John (Alec Baldwin) is revisiting his past and reliving events he regrets as Jack (Jesse Eisenberg) falls for his girlfriend's friend (Ellen Paige). The casting of Paige in this role as the seductive Monica, who always makes men fall for her and bewitches Jack, is an interesting choice by Allen given that Paige has never played this type of role before and usually presents herself as much more girl-next-door.
Though some parts and actors/actresses are better than others, the film has some good moments for Allen fans. B-
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