? London’s top stock
trader (Russell Crowe), having unexpectedly inherited a French vineyard from
the uncle who raised him, learns the joys of simple living and loving. Roughly,
it’s Jerry McGuire crossed with Under the Tuscan Sun, as directed
by Ridley Scott, who also directed Crowe in Gladiator. The script was
adapted from Peter Mayle’s novel by the guy whose previous credit is the fluffy
romantic comedy Serendipity.
+ The movie has a
laid-back vibe that, along with nice scenery, mostly made it pleasant to watch.
It was mostly free of the corny moments and overbroad supporting characters
that made Under the Tuscan Sun seem too much like a bad sitcom set in a
Busch Gardens version of Europe, although the hero does “meet cute” with
the love interest (Marion Cotillard)—he nearly runs her over with his car. The flashback scenes,
with Albert Finney playing the uncle, are well done, and I also liked the ones
with Archie Panjabi (who’s a woman) as the faithful assistant back in London.
- It’s always tough
to show a character changing and make it believable. I wasn’t convinced that
Crowe’s character was, after a week in the country, a lecture from an
unexpected visitor, and a look at the local hottie, ready to chuck it all, or
to regard the aforementioned beauty as someone different from the succession of
brief relationships he’s apparently had in England. Even those flashbacks,
which curiously all seem to take place the same summer, reveal a boy who was
smart but already a cheater (at chess) and a sore loser. Why is he going to
change?
= **3/4 Diverting but
superficial. The romantic aspects aren’t emphasized enough to call this a
romance, and there aren’t enough existential aspects to call it deep.
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