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.
Comment
12/17/07
Puccini for Beginners (2007)
50
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:12
Rotten:12
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.
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
Top CriticReaser 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 CriticIt'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 CriticPuccini 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 CriticThere's a drag on this film, and that's the character of the protagonist, Allegra. She's just not a nice person, which could have been OK, except it seems as though she's supposed to be.
03/02/07
Top CriticIt may not be the real world of New York, or even of most relationships, but it's worth a visit.
03/02/07
Top CriticProving that a movie called Puccini For Beginners actually can be as deeply pretentious as its title implies, Puccini For Beginners attempts to pick up the torch once carried by Woody Allen for the romantic comedy of ideas.
03/01/07
Top CriticThe movie offers a charming view of a small-town Manhattan where strangers constantly give Allegra romantic advice. Though that device is a little too indebted to Woody Allen, at least Maggenti does Allen a lot better than Ed Burns.
03/01/07
Top Critic[Director] Maggenti offers a cute variation on the classic Hollywood 'comedy of remarriage.'
02/09/07
Top CriticIf Woody Allen were a young, attractive gay woman, he might make something like this, or so Maggenti hopes. But it would probably be funnier, and it would definitely cut deeper.
02/09/07
Top CriticThe filmmaker's niftiest trick is in making a group of neurotic, self-involved, overly verbal people so engaging.
02/08/07
Top CriticA sharp-witted romantic comedy that takes the old Woody Allen screwball style and mood and amusingly applies them to a story about tangled gay and straight relationships in modern Manhattan.
02/08/07
Top CriticFor fans desperate for a funny new romantic comedy, and willing to expand their definitions of just what a date movie might entail, Puccini for Beginners offers a good 101 introduction to the genre.
02/07/07
Top CriticA number of scenes in the film are charming and engaging, with a genuinely unforced lightheartedness, and that takes more than a little expertise on the part of Ms. Maggenti, as well as her cast and other collaborators.
02/07/07
Top CriticReal pleasure comes in small, refreshing doses in Puccini for Beginners.
02/07/07
Top CriticWriter-director Maggenti turns in some smart dialogue and keeps things moving swiftly.
02/02/07
Top CriticSnappy repartee with the ring of real conversation is sustained through enough of Puccini for Beginners to make it a rarity.
02/02/07
Top CriticRarely have I seen a film simultaneously so good and so bad.
02/01/07
Top CriticLatest News for Puccini for Beginners
February 01, 2007:
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This week at the movies, we've got mother/daughter conflict ("Because I Said So," starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore) and dark proceedings on a North Dakota... More...
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