In "Puccini for Beginners", Allegra(Elizabeth Reaser), a writer, has just been dumped by her girlfriend, Samantha(Julianne Nicholson), for not being able to commit. At first, Allegra is depressed at being alone but soon meets Philip(Justin Kirk), a philosophy professor, at a party and feels attracted to him, even
though she identifies as a lesbian and has not had sex with a man in a long time. And then she meets Grace(Gretchen Mol) at a screwball comedy festival... Unbeknowst to Allegra, Philip and Grace have been together for six years. Written and directed by Maria Maggenti, "Puccini for Beginners" is an uneven attempt at screwball comedy despite a hopeful premise, set in an alternate New York City where everybody has cool jobs but never works, and the same five people just happen to run into each other repeatedly.(And I just want to point out that the staff of Cinema Village has never alerted me to the presence of cute blonde patrons...) To do a successful screwball comedy, you need the right touch and cast. Howard Hawks had it. Ms. Maggenti regrettably does not. I liked Elizabeth Reaser in "Saved" but here she makes for a poor lead.
February 6, 2007
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