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04/23/09
Puccini for Beginners (2007)
49 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 59
Fresh: 29
Rotten:30
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Consensus: A Woody Allen-ish film that needs more of the caustic wit expected from the best New York rom coms.
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... [More]
Starring: Elizabeth Reaser, Gretchen Mol, Justin Kirk, Jennifer Dundas
Director: Maria Maggenti
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Reviews for Puccini for Beginners
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.
12/17/07
Top CriticIt's amiable enough but there's nothing on show to make it stand out from the average rom-com.
10/26/07
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.
06/08/07
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.
05/18/07
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.
05/18/07
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.
04/18/07
[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.
04/14/07
...flickers with good intentions, but the final result is flat and featureless...
04/06/07
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04/06/07
When a script that considers itself smart, sassy and even intellectual comes across as juvenile and dopey, what went wrong?
03/31/07
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.
03/23/07
Top CriticThere is pleasure and even insight to be had in Puccini but it all feels second-hand, and therefore, of questionable provenance.
03/23/07
Top CriticPuccini 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.
03/16/07
Top CriticHas a likable smartness to it; like a good Woody Allen film with a gay twist.
03/16/07
[Director Maria] Maggenti tries hard to be snappy and smart but the tossed-off repartee sounds off-key and behind the beat.
03/15/07
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.
03/15/07
Top CriticIf you're willing to veer away from your more traditional romantic comedies, this is worth watching.
03/09/07
Puccini for Beginners is littered with witty dialogue, although some of it is so obviously scripted that it can become off-putting.
03/03/07
Top CriticAn engaging romantic quadrangle.
03/02/07
Latest News for Puccini for Beginners
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