Woody Allen followed up his successful Midnight in Paris (2011) with another light-hearted excursion to a fabled, romantic city in Europe. Once again magical realism does its best to sell Rome as an irresistible place of history and culture where anything could happen. Among others, we meet an American retiree (Allen) who discovers an opera talent, a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) who tries to resist a sexy newcomer, and an ordinary Italian (Roberto Benigni) who becomes a celebrity. Pleasant, but very contrived; some of the vignettes are entirely forgettable.
2012-U.S.-Italy. 112 min. Color. Written and directed by Woody Allen. Cast: Woody Allen (Jerry), Alec Baldwin (John Foyt), Roberto Benigni (Leopoldo Pisanello), Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg… Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page, Alison Pill.
Trivia: Noomi Rapace was allegedly considered for a role.
