Scan and Pan
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Puccini for Beginners
The official plot description: "Opera fan Allegra loves Samantha, but she won't say so. Grace loves Philip but he won't marry her. Samantha leaves Allegra. Allegra meets Philip. Philip leaves Grace. Allegra falls for Philip. Allegra meets Grace. Grace falls for Allegra. Allegra falls for Grace. Allegra sees Philip and Grace simultaneously and has no idea they're exes." In short, lesbian falls for man, straight woman falls for her, hilarity ensues.
Writer/director Maria Maggenti (The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) serves up a sparkling romance (several of them, in fact!) with witty dialog, while also managing a clever commentary on gender and sexuality as applied to relationships. In some ways, it's the kind of sophisticated but neurotic New York romantic comedy that Woody Allen used to do so well, but with a nice twist. Its charms never seem forced, rather they flow naturally from a funny script performed by a perfect cast. At just 82 minutes in length, it says all it needs to without ever outstaying its welcome.
Despite being a low budget production shot on digital video, it doesn't look it because the cinematography of Mauricio Rubinstein is suitably bright and polished. Editor Susan Graef keeps the proceedings well-paced, and reportedly conceived of moving a key scene to the beginning, which really sets up the rest of the film rather nicely.
Elizabeth Reaser has great comic timing and facial expressions as Allegra, while making her conflicted character very sympathetic to the audience. Gretchen Mol is a believably ditzy blonde as Grace, while Justin Kirk makes a charming Philip. Also deserving of notice are the performances of Julianne Nicholson as Samantha; Tina Benko as Nell, another ex of Allegra's; Jennifer Dundas as Molly, Allegra's best friend; and Brian Letscher as Samantha's fiancé.
Puccini for Beginners is the funniest romantic comedy that I've seen in a very long time, and its postmodern take on sexuality is refreshing. Highly recommended.
If bisexual screwball comedy is a genre, then this hilarious film is an excellent example of it.
The official plot description: "Opera fan Allegra loves Samantha, but she won't say so. Grace loves Philip but he won't marry her. Samantha leaves Allegra. Allegra meets Philip. Philip leaves Grace. Allegra falls for Philip. Allegra meets Grace. Grace falls for Allegra. Allegra falls for Grace. Allegra sees Philip and Grace simultaneously and has no idea they're exes." In short, lesbian falls for man, straight woman falls for her, hilarity ensues.
Writer/director Maria Maggenti (The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) serves up a sparkling romance (several of them, in fact!) with witty dialog, while also managing a clever commentary on gender and sexuality as applied to relationships. In some ways, it's the kind of sophisticated but neurotic New York romantic comedy that Woody Allen used to do so well, but with a nice twist. Its charms never seem forced, rather they flow naturally from a funny script performed by a perfect cast. At just 82 minutes in length, it says all it needs to without ever outstaying its welcome.
Despite being a low budget production shot on digital video, it doesn't look it because the cinematography of Mauricio Rubinstein is suitably bright and polished. Editor Susan Graef keeps the proceedings well-paced, and reportedly conceived of moving a key scene to the beginning, which really sets up the rest of the film rather nicely.
Elizabeth Reaser has great comic timing and facial expressions as Allegra, while making her conflicted character very sympathetic to the audience. Gretchen Mol is a believably ditzy blonde as Grace, while Justin Kirk makes a charming Philip. Also deserving of notice are the performances of Julianne Nicholson as Samantha; Tina Benko as Nell, another ex of Allegra's; Jennifer Dundas as Molly, Allegra's best friend; and Brian Letscher as Samantha's fiancé.
Puccini for Beginners is the funniest romantic comedy that I've seen in a very long time, and its postmodern take on sexuality is refreshing. Highly recommended.
Comments:
Post a Comment
