WOODY ALLEN’S LATEST BEATS BLOCKBUSTERS IN ITALY

Italians are bestowing much love on Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love, which was launched in Italy over the weekend ahead of its North American release on June 22. Daily Variety reported today (Tuesday) that the film collected $3.7 million, more than the combined total of the next five pictures on the list, Battleship, Titanic, Street Dance 2, Mirror Mirror and The Untouchables. It marked the best Italian opening ever for an Allen film, coming in far ahead of last year’s Midnight in Paris, which brought in $2.8 million. However, several film critics complained that the movie is overly romantic and superficial and does not reflect the hard economic times that most Romans are currently experiencing. The film offers four interrelated episodes, but one Italian critic remarked that it was impossible to say which of the four “is the least ugly.” Another commented, “Waiting for a more inspired Woody.”