A virtual case study of Hollywood's irrepressible urge to lower the bar in the hopes of upping the take.
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09/27/03
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Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:141
Fresh:87
Rotten:54
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Though formulaic and superficial, Under the Tuscan Sun is redeemed by Lane's vibrant performance.
Theatrical Release:Sep 26, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $43,452,354
Synopsis: Who hasn't dreamed at least once of running off to a foreign country and starting a new life? That's exactly what Frances (Diane Lane) does in UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, directed by Audrey Wells... [More]
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Reviews for Under the Tuscan Sun
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09/27/03
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09/27/03
Has about as much in common with Frances Mayes as it does with Willie Mays, but it does have the marvelous Diane Lane.
09/27/03
Top CriticOffers Americans the ultimate fantasy vacation. It's a beautiful, sunny, fresh air trip to Europe without the jet lag, language problems, money problems, or any other trivialities.
09/26/03
If it were a half-hour shorter -- and thus better-focused, story-wise -- I would recommend it. As it stands, I have some beautiful mental snapshots of the scenery and the locals, but I can't imagine taking the trip again.
09/26/03
It is a glorious refreshment to spend time with characters who aren't twenty-something eye bait, someone's virtuous, whiny wife or other reductive archetypes.
09/26/03
Top CriticIt's like a music video of Helen Reddy's 'I Am Woman' filmed in the Chevy Chase Pottery Barn.
09/26/03
Top CriticRather than converting messy, real-life experience into slick, formulaic entertainment, Well's script transforms it into a shapeless, internally inconsistent mess of artificial contrivances.
09/26/03
Lane makes a good impression of a woman taking a big risk and winning a second chance at life.
09/26/03
Despite the formulaic plot, which seems to belong on the Lifetime channel, Wells has a knack for witty dialogue that keeps things moving along.
09/26/03
The only real downside to the film is what it's likely to do for Italian tourism. After this, the deluge.
09/26/03
Top CriticLane's vibrant performance is as vital to this amusing saga as a bottle of good Chianti to a heaping plate of pasta.
09/26/03
Men may roll their eyes, and anyone under the age of 35 is likely to fall asleep, but for the target audience, this is a fantastic film.
09/26/03
How Lifetime is this movie? Let's run through the Chick Flick Checklist.
09/26/03
You couldn't cram more chick-flick manipulation devices into this thing unless you blew it up to 70mm.
09/26/03
[Wells] rushes the film ... from episode to episode -- some of which work and some of which don't.
09/26/03
Lane is so lovable, so sexy and so believably conflicted (when she buys the place, you're convinced she'd do something that impetuous), the rest of the film blurs around her.
09/26/03
Alternately helped, hindered and (best) left alone by first-time director Wells, Lane fills the screen with her perceptive presence and lifts the undramatic story as high as gravity allows.
09/26/03
Top CriticEminently superficial, although Ms. Wells keeps the movie going with a steady, commanding hand and casts it with an actress who can deftly downshift from serene to sodden.
09/26/03
Top CriticLatest News for Under the Tuscan Sun
July 28, 2005:
RT Critical Consensus: "Sky High" Soars, "Stealth" Crashes, and Diane Lane and John Cusack Go Dateless
The willing suspension of disbelief is often essential to the moviegoing experience. This week's wide releases provide no such relief. We will be asked to believe that a fighter... More...
March 11, 2005:
Audrey Wells to do Some Rearranging Over at Touchstone
More...
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