To Rome With Love (2012)

Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Woody Allen, Jesse Eisenberg, Penélope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Ellen Page, Judy Davis.
112 Min./ USA, Italy, Spain /Comedy, Romance

Woody Allen is one of those inconic directors that everyone has heard of. He is known for his movies 'Annie Hall' and 'Manhatten', which are both of the late 70's. However he has released some pretty good movies in the last decade as well. Films as "Matchpoint", Vicky Christina Barcelona and Midnight In Paris, which are all about European cities. After London, Barcelona and Paris it is time for a movie about Rome.

Like in every Woody Allen movie he has hired an amazing Cast with actors like Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg and Alec Baldwin. However we have seen it before that a stellar cast isn't a guarantee for a good movie.
In To Rome With Love we follow four storylines. First we have the story of Hayley an American tourist who falls in love with an Italian. Hayley's parents come to visit her fiancé and his parents. They don't seem to get along very well which leads to several funny moments.
Then we have Antonio and Milly's storyline. They just got married and moved to Rome, because Antonio got a job in the company of his rich uncles. Somehow Milly gets lost in Rome and Anna gets introduced to Antonio's rich uncles as Milly. This leads to some really awkward situations.
The most bizarre story of the four is Leopoldo's story. Leopoldo has a desk job in an office. inexplicable, he wakes up the next day to discover he has become a national celebrity. We follow his weird life from studio's to film premieres, etc, etc.
Last one is the story of Jack, an American Architecture student. He lives together with his girlfriend Sally. When Sally's friend Monica comes over to stay with them in Rome for a while, Jack seems more interested in Monica than Sally.

From all the movies about European cities that Woody Allen has made this probably is the weakest of them all. Not because of the acting, which was actually pretty good, but the writing. It feels like 4 stories wrapped together and it does not do credit to the beautiful story of Rome. This city deserved better. Hopefully the next Woody Allen is as good as Midnight In Paris or Vicky Christina Barcelona.

2/5