MOVIE
REVIEW: Puccini For Beginners
06/28/07
Ah, sexual promiscuity, a
dangerous game to play. Just ask Allegra (Elizabeth Reaser)
how her indecisiveness and loosy goosy attitude toward
commitment got her into an ugly jam. This movie was
turning me off in the beginning but it picked up nicely and
entertained me the rest of the way. The only thing is that
it was as entertaining as an episode of Sex and the City.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but
a movie by its very nature should be better than a TV show.
This was more like a made-for-cable movie to be seen on
Lifetime or Oxygen.
This is your typical love triangle plot with the added spice
of bi-sexuality. Samantha (Julianne Nicholson) breaks up
with Allegra because of Allegra’s lack of commitment and
emotional bond. Allegra rebounds by
getting involved with a guy, yeah a guy, Philip (Justin
Kirk). Philip has a girlfriend, Grace (Gretchen Mol), but
they are in a rut and with Philip having a new squeeze, they
break up. Allegra also gets involved with
Grace not knowing that she is Philip’s ex-girlfriend.
Allegra can’t decide which way to go and to top it off she
is still hung up on Samantha. Is this sounding like a soap
opera or what?
It’s hard to do a bad job in cinematography when you are
filming in New York. In this case, it keeps the movie
afloat. The melting pot of personalities in this film were
right at home. There weren’t any real stand out
performances, though. Everybody was pretty bland and
shallow, which is good enough for this kind of story. The
script was intelligent but at times it tried too hard to be
intellectual. Writer/Director Maria Maggenti is getting
there.
So, is it a chick flick? Yeah, I think it qualifies. Could
anybody enjoy it? If you are a fan of Sex and the City type
stuff, you’ll enjoy it. If not, don’t go out of your way.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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