Product: Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Rating: 4.0
Not Your Typical 'Chick Flick'
Diane Lane is a wonderful actress. She has the ability to go through a range of emotions within a few seconds in the most natural way, conveying conflicted, confused feelings better than 10 pages of dialog. The movie itself was a very pleasant surprise. While it is a light romantic comedy, it avoids becoming just another paint-by-numbers film. Just when you think it's about to fall into the standard formula, it makes a quick left turn. It actually has a lot of truth in it. Anyone, male or female, who has been through a divorce and all that goes along with it emotionally can relate to it. Only a few, though, will find the courage (and proper encouragement) to not allow it to define the rest of their lives. The film tells us this basic truth: To have any chance of ever finding happiness in life, you must always be willing to risk it all, in spite of any doubts or pain you may yet have. If you are so stuck that you cannot take giant leaps of faith, even though you yet have fears, you might as well go shopping for your burial plot right now.