As the extra on the DVD explains, Woody Allen is a fan of the older Italian movies and wanted to do an homage of sorts, to make a movie in Rome with some of the Italian style and comedy represented in those older movies.
He has several, independent, parallel stories going on, each with its own quirks. I like Woody himself in small doses and here he has one of the roles, as a dad, recently retired from the classical music business, traveling to Rome to see his daughter and meet her Italian fiancée. Most of the humor involves Giancarlo, the father of the fiancée, and the actor is Fabio Armiliato, who in actuality is a well-respected operatic tenor. He is an undertaker and they discover that he sings really well in the shower, but only does so-so in the audition that he very reluctantly goes to. The solution is funny, they modify well-known operas so that he always sings while taking a shower, and the audience loves him.
Roberto Benigni, of "Life Is Beautiful" fame, plays Leopoldo, a lowly clerk, who one day is unexpectedly confronted by cameras and microphones, for no apparent reason everyone takes an interest in every detail of his life, what he eats for breakfast, what kind of shaving cream he uses, whether he wears briefs or boxers. He is very annoyed. Of course it is Woody's comment on people who become "famous for being famous" with no basis. Later when people lose interest in him he misses the attention and tries to get it back.
There is a bit about a young aspiring architect meeting up with an architect who had, like the young architect, lived in the same area of Rome 30 years earlier. Now he is known for designing shopping centers.
Another bit is about a young couple taking their honeymoon in Rome and getting separated, he meeting up with a hooker, she with a hotel robber, then finding out they would rather lead a more normal life away from Rome.
You can look for deep meaning in Woody Allen films but to me there isn't any, just some humorous scenes and characters that more often than not are a commentary on some facet of our everyday lives. But examined from a unique Woody Allen angle.
An aside, for years Woody Allen has insisted that his movies have a "mono" soundtrack, because that is the way it was at movie houses. Yes it "was", many years ago. But modern movie houses have incorporated some form of "surround sound" for years now. Well this movie, "To Rome With Love" has a Dolby 5.1 surround sound track. And when I went back to check, "Midnight in Paris" (2011) did too. But every movie before that is listed with a "mono" sound. It is nice to see Woody Allen has finally accepted modern sound design, it makes the movie much more enjoyable.
He has several, independent, parallel stories going on, each with its own quirks. I like Woody himself in small doses and here he has one of the roles, as a dad, recently retired from the classical music business, traveling to Rome to see his daughter and meet her Italian fiancée. Most of the humor involves Giancarlo, the father of the fiancée, and the actor is Fabio Armiliato, who in actuality is a well-respected operatic tenor. He is an undertaker and they discover that he sings really well in the shower, but only does so-so in the audition that he very reluctantly goes to. The solution is funny, they modify well-known operas so that he always sings while taking a shower, and the audience loves him.
Roberto Benigni, of "Life Is Beautiful" fame, plays Leopoldo, a lowly clerk, who one day is unexpectedly confronted by cameras and microphones, for no apparent reason everyone takes an interest in every detail of his life, what he eats for breakfast, what kind of shaving cream he uses, whether he wears briefs or boxers. He is very annoyed. Of course it is Woody's comment on people who become "famous for being famous" with no basis. Later when people lose interest in him he misses the attention and tries to get it back.
There is a bit about a young aspiring architect meeting up with an architect who had, like the young architect, lived in the same area of Rome 30 years earlier. Now he is known for designing shopping centers.
Another bit is about a young couple taking their honeymoon in Rome and getting separated, he meeting up with a hooker, she with a hotel robber, then finding out they would rather lead a more normal life away from Rome.
You can look for deep meaning in Woody Allen films but to me there isn't any, just some humorous scenes and characters that more often than not are a commentary on some facet of our everyday lives. But examined from a unique Woody Allen angle.
An aside, for years Woody Allen has insisted that his movies have a "mono" soundtrack, because that is the way it was at movie houses. Yes it "was", many years ago. But modern movie houses have incorporated some form of "surround sound" for years now. Well this movie, "To Rome With Love" has a Dolby 5.1 surround sound track. And when I went back to check, "Midnight in Paris" (2011) did too. But every movie before that is listed with a "mono" sound. It is nice to see Woody Allen has finally accepted modern sound design, it makes the movie much more enjoyable.