Sometimes, when you've reached a certain age, love's not enough. It's gotta be supported with real estate. This is the moral I culled from "Under the Tuscan Sun," a film about one woman's journey of self-renewal and redemption, via the purchase (and subsequent renovation) of a 300-year-old Italian villa. At one point she breaks down and weeps: "I don't have a life that will fill these empty rooms, all these empty bedrooms!" But the Italian realtor soothes her with the story of a railroad line built over the Alps when no train could make it up there. The builders had faith that someday a train would materialize -- and sure enough, it did.
The woman blinks back her tears and goes shopping (for a spare chandelier part) and lo! She locks gazes with a smoldering Italian dude. He offers a ride on his Vespa, invites her for dinner, and wine. Eventually he tells her she's beautiful and that he wants to make love "all over" her. There it is girls, the answer to all our problems: first, get to Italy. Next, buy the house. And the right life will materialize.
Directed by Audrey Wells ("Guinevere") and starring Diane Lane, "Under the Tuscan Sun" is a chick-flick on female hormonal overdrive. The film leaves no cliche unturned: the lush, beautiful Tuscan countryside awash in 2,000 kw of sunshine; the huge, romantic villa with an olive grove and tomatoes in the garden; the incredible culinary skills of the heroine displayed before adoring onlookers; and, of course, the dark, muscular love interest named Marcello.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
