Laughing Around the Trevi Fountain

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2012)

In "To Rome With Love" Woody Allen weaves 4 story lines around our obsession with celebrities. It's not captivating like last year's "Midnight In Paris" but it's Woody Allen so it's smart, funny and a nice piece of entertainment that should please most people. And the charming Roman scenery doesn't hurt either. Allen appears in one segment as a guy who isn't comfortable with his future son-in-law's leftist views. He's also a talent agent who can't resist one more shot at making a star despite the bizarre lengths he's forced to go through to bring it to fruition. Alec Baldwin has a nice turn as a successful architect who becomes a mentor and adviser to Jesse Eisenberg who falls for an out-of-work actress (Ellen Page) who may only see him as a temporary diversion between acting gigs. Roberto Benigni is delightful as a clerk who awakens one day to the relentless pursuit of reporters and paparazzi hanging on his every syllable. Finally there's a couple that get separated and end up in farcical situations involving a prostitute wonderfully played by Penelope Cruz and an Italian film star (Antonio Albanese).