Cinema Tuesdays Review

"Under the Tuscan Sun," based on the memoir of the same name by Frances Mayes, is a pleasant surprise, thanks to Diane Lane's winning performance. Lane plays Frances, who, after her divorce, goes on holiday in Italy, and impulsively buys a centuries-old villa. The house turns out to be quite a fixer-upper, and along the way, she learns (to paraphrase the movie's marketing slogan) that life is full of second chances, and all she has to do is grab on to one and run. Although we know little of her previous life in the states, throughout the movie we can see that Frances is learning not only how to repair a house, but how to build herself up again. In the audio commentary on the DVD, director Audrey Wells explains that she cast Lane as the lead because she felt Lane had the ability to play the gently comic scenes while also conveying a layer of sadness underneath.

"Under the Tuscan Sun" does have a few of the expected moments in a movie of this type, such as the Meet Cute between the heroine and her soon-to-be-boyfriend, lavish Italian meals (which I never mind seeing!) and clichéd characters like the Colorful Italian Grandmamma, the Best Friend, and the Foreign Workers that help Frances fix up her house. But few if any are played too broadly, and ultimately, this warm-hearted movie works. The recently released DVD includes some deleted scenes, one of which is interesting, and two of which were deleted for good reason. There's also a nifty hidden feature that demonstrates just how far digital technology has come in the past 10 years. Yes, you can now add underwear to a naked man to secure a PG-13 rating. Hooray!

4/5/04

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