Review of To Rome with Love (2012) by Jessica C — 26 Sep 2012

The four stories we are presented with are not connected and each pose their own queries, some better than others.

The story of John (Alec Baldwin) reliving his year in Italy and trying to talk sense into his younger self is well delivered but Page does not generate the appropriate femme fatale and Baldwin's descriptions to his younger self are also true of the scenes, contrived and painful. Also, it is probably too far to go from Eisenberg to Baldwin. The story of the provincial Italian couple is a fun, flawed farce but works. Allen's own vignette tries to be both a farce and serious so it never quite launches but it was enjoyable. Finally, the tale of the man who became famous for being famous was at first very funny and well done but it becomes tired and begins to feel like celebrities complaining (how does that ever go down with us, the hoi polloi?), before telling us to our face that it's better to be one than not, thanks!

Overall 'To Rome With Love' falls short in a lot of ways but Allen provides enough treats of sound, dialogue and situation that buoy the film as a whole and in this instance make it a worthwhile experience. Be prepared for freewheelin 60's free love thinking too.