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Movies / On DVD / Puccini for Beginners
Puccini for Beginners

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Puccini for Beginners (2007)

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Reviews Counted:60

Fresh:30

Rotten:30

Average Rating:5.7/10

Consensus: A Woody Allen-ish film that needs more of the caustic wit expected from the best New York rom coms.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Feb 2, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: Everyone is love-crazed in Maria Maggenti's delightfully quick-witted screwball comedy, Puccini for Beginners; but Allegra Castiglione–our dashing, adorable heroine–is by far the most commitment... Everyone is love-crazed in Maria Maggenti's delightfully quick-witted screwball comedy, Puccini for Beginners; but Allegra Castiglione–our dashing, adorable heroine–is by far the most commitment phobic. Her lesbian lover dumped her because she couldn't settle down and say "I love you." And just as she's drowning her sorrows in a giant slice of Camembert, in walks Philip, a dapper Columbia professor who, against her better judgment, lights her fire. Kicking and screaming, she launches an affair with–heaven forbid–a man! Meanwhile, she falls into bed with irresistibly gorgeous Grace, a recently single, straight woman, of all things. While juggling two romances that are advancing way too quickly for comfort, Allegra lands in hot water that boils over into an explosive, cathartic climax for all. Waltzing beyond the coming-out stories of a decade ago, Maggenti playfully ushers in a new era of lesbian cinema free from an ideological agenda. Here sexuality is fluid and unapologetic, while gender identity and politics are hotly debated–and even poked fun at–rather than narrowly defined. Smart, snappy dialogue and effortlessly charming performances by Elizabeth Reaser, Justin Kirk, and Gretchen Mol make this triangular tale soar. Like an accomplice, a glistening New York City operates as an enchanting cosmopolitan village, where chance meetings alter destinies and anything is possible. --© Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Elizabeth Reaser, Gretchen Mol, Justin Kirk, Jennifer Dundas

Starring: Elizabeth Reaser, Gretchen Mol, Justin Kirk, Jennifer Dundas, Julianne Nicholson

Director: Maria Maggenti

Director: Maria Maggenti
Studio: Strand Releasing

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Release:

Jul 3, 2007

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Reviews for Puccini for Beginners

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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But when all is said and done, Maggenti’s film transcends mere lesbian angst and offers some food for thought to lovers everywhere as they dance, sing or fornicate around the scary subject of commitment.

Full Review Source: JWR | comment Comment
07/23/09
S. James Wegg
S. James Wegg
JWR
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Fresh Manhattan locations prove as photogenic as the leads, and the supporting actors -- especially Tina Benko as a glacial, impeccably dressed amazon -- don't miss a beat of Maggenti's snappy dialogue.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/17/07
Andrea Gronvall
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's amiable enough but there's nothing on show to make it stand out from the average rom-com.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/26/07
Caroline Westbrook
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine

Puccini is the joyously refreshing romancer that it tries so hard to be. Its success has a lot to do with its casting directors who have peopled both the major and minor roles with aplomb. Even off-off-Broadway legend Helen Hanft has a cameo.

Full Review Source: New York Theatre Wire | comment Comment
06/08/07
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
New York Theatre Wire

Thankfully, Puccini for Beginners isn't quite as exploitative as you might expect for a movie about a bisexual love triangle. But that's about all the credit this flat-footed, would-be screwball comedy gets.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/18/07
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Beware the indie screwball comedy that uses opera as a metaphor and lives in that dreamspace between Greenwich Village bookstores and the characters' belly buttons.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
05/18/07
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Maggenti has fun messing around with gender and sexuality stereotypes as well as relationship roles, and strives to hammer home the point that both men and women can devolve into comically clingy wrecks.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
04/18/07
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

[Actress] Reaser is no slouch in the emotionally befuddled whirlwind department. In the end, it's all la dolce vita no matter how you look at it.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
04/14/07
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

...flickers with good intentions, but the final result is flat and featureless...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
04/06/07
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
04/06/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

When a script that considers itself smart, sassy and even intellectual comes across as juvenile and dopey, what went wrong?

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
03/31/07
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Reaser really doesn't stand a chance. She's plucky as heck, and you like her despite the script, but she can't save the movie.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
03/23/07
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is pleasure and even insight to be had in Puccini but it all feels second-hand, and therefore, of questionable provenance.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
03/23/07
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Puccini for Beginners doesn't quite make it as romantic comedy. Most of the elements are in place, but the characters seem too narcissistic to fall in love and too broad-brush to be authentic.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
03/16/07
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Has a likable smartness to it; like a good Woody Allen film with a gay twist.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
03/16/07
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

[Director Maria] Maggenti tries hard to be snappy and smart but the tossed-off repartee sounds off-key and behind the beat.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/15/07
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's no fun to sit through the movie's retread Woody Allenisms, including postmodern repartee among the self-absorbed or giddily neurotic and passing strangers suddenly given to ironic Greek chorus-like commentary.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
03/15/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you're willing to veer away from your more traditional romantic comedies, this is worth watching.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
03/09/07
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Puccini for Beginners is littered with witty dialogue, although some of it is so obviously scripted that it can become off-putting.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
03/03/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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