MovieChat Forums > To Rome with Love (2012) Discussion > Allen's WORST FILM ever

Allen's WORST FILM ever

posted 13 years ago by TheTaleTeller
118 replies | jump to latest

I'm a big fan of Woody Allen but "To Rome With Love" is simply a disaster.

Unfortunately you can see EVERY single flaw of an italian production (I'm italian): they choose popular italian actors but surely not the best ones. Alessandra Mastronardi and Alessandro Tiberi are awful from the very beginning, when they say they'll miss their hometown (Pordenone, in North Italy) with a clear roman accent. They both act like if they were in a high school play.
Roberto Benigni simply plays himself as always.
Other actors are too unbelievable in their roles (Antonio Albanese as a sex symbol??? Are you kidding me???).

Like every bad italian mainstream comedy, the product placement is shameless, even laughable in several occasions.

Like every bad italian mainstream comedy, the extras are so badly directed (they even watch on camera!) that you ended up being distracted by the background.

The story itself is boring, bad acted, clueless.

Penelope Cruz has some funny moments here and there but the rest of the international cast seem lost.

I was like... He did MIDNIGHT IN PARIS last year. And even if not great, the movie was a pleasure to watch. A nice, small surreal story.

"To Rome With Love" is indefensible. Woody Allen's WORST PICTURE ever.

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

Another overreacting Italian complaining about stereotypes. Lol.

[–] TheTaleTeller 13 years ago

I'm mainly talking about the production values of the movie. It's like watching a bad italian movie. Not a Woody Allen film.
The story itself is not that much full of stereotypes, it's simply not very appealing.

[–] breadman8 13 years ago

Yeah it wasn't as good as Annie Hall. Big whoop. psssst.
To Rome with Love had many more laughs than Midnight in Paris and what about the Scarlett Johansen murder mystery one. That was, for me a weak one. Except for Scarlett.

[–] orchidclub 13 years ago

Totally agree with you. I liked Midnight in Paris better but I laughed more at To Rome with Love. And Match Point is extremely overrated. He did the same story better with Crimes and Misdemeanors.

____________________________
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[–] Injectionlethal 13 years ago

Agreed. Its just not a very film at all, from a filmic perspective. I've never been to Italy, so I can't say if it is a bad Italian film or so forth, but it's just not a very bad film. I loved Midnight in Paris (my honest favorite since Annie Hall) but this felt strapped together at the last minute. It was hugely disappointing.

You drive a soft bargain,...and a minivan.

[–] Walter_Iego 12 years ago

Yes it is, you don't seem to grasp the point of it being made (?)

---
"The truth is behind everything..."

[–] bellamae 11 years ago

According the the extra, most of the crew was from Italy.

[–] apache67 12 years ago

Why must there always be someone on these posts (you) who veers from the topic to be offensive (thinking they are funny) towards another poster?

[–] cusca 9 years ago

Exactly the same reaction as when "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" came out, then with Spaniards LOL

[–] unglash 13 years ago

plus: 1) every dialogue sounds like it was written by a retard. 2) you can see the microphones in at least 3 scenes. 3) no one is a vergin when getting married. italy had its sexual revolution in the 60s just like the rest of europe... 4)the guy that sings under the shower in opera theatres is taken from that simpsons' episode when homer becomes an opera singer but has to lay on his back all the time 5)the critic to the society of spectacle doesn't look sincere, is quite shallow and, most of all, is really late.

[–] YellowManCow 13 years ago

the guy that sings under the shower in opera theatres is taken from that simpsons' episode

Right, because as we all know, Woody Allen is an avid fan of the Simpsons and has seen every episode. If we were talking about "South Park" or "Family Guy" you might have a legitimate argument that, "Simpsons did it first", but it isn't, it's a movie made by an aging, reclusive filmmaker who frequently talks about how much he hates popular culture. Basically you're just clasping at straws to hold up a faulty argument.

[–] unglash 13 years ago

I don't think Allen wrote this movie: how can he possibly write and shoot more than 1 movie per year? He's faster than stephen king. Plus, this movie is way dumber than the allen's average movie... he surely hired a bunch of unknown guys to do the script.
by the way: allen is part of the pop culture. yes, his movies tend to be quite smart and somehow profound, but they are also very mainstream and "for every viewer" (which is not a bad thing per se, it's bad when that dumbs down the film)

[–] deniseactress 13 years ago

Most writers have at least 1o sires in them at one given moment. Why wouldn't Allen have written this one.
It's definitely not dumber. In fact every single time a new movie comes out people declare it's his worst and then it sinks in that hey this is actually pretty brilliant. This movie like his others is simply another commentary on today's pop culture. Or rather how upper class people are always discontent in their very comfortable lives.

[–] unglash 13 years ago

no, he's just criticizing the society of the spectacle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Debord
something he should have done at leat 30 years ago... not very original, now

[–] breadman8 13 years ago

YOu had me up until that remark. That's not the movie I just saw from Woody Allen.
Or is that a play on the young leftist lawyer who takes the tourist gal to meet his family. Were all those folks and the suddenly famous character..upper class?

[–] YellowManCow 13 years ago

I don't think Allen wrote this movie: how can he possibly write and shoot more than 1 movie per year?

An even more delusional argument than where you began. How can he write and direct a movie every single year? By making basically his entire life about working on film. And by writing and directing quickly and efficiently. And by making a new movie basically every year, odds are the vast majority of his work won't be all that great, with a few gems showing up here and there. I mean, remember Hollywood Ending? Anything Else? Whatever Works? That's okay, hardly anybody does, because they weren't very good. But every once in awhile he squeezes out a Match Point or a Midnight in Paris that audiences and critics seem to enjoy.

Plus, this movie is way dumber than the allen's average movie... he surely hired a bunch of unknown guys to do the script.

This is yet another faulty argument based on nothing more than your imagination and apparent desperation to prove your illogical points.

by the way: allen is part of the pop culture. yes, his movies tend to be quite smart and somehow profound, but they are also very mainstream and "for every viewer"

Yes, I do agree that Allen's films have become a part of popular culture itself, but the point you originally were attempting to prove was that Woody supposedly steals jokes from The Simpsons, NOT that his movies are a part of pop culture. You essentially changed your initial argument in an attempt to distract from the fact that it had no basis in reality to begin with.

So in conclusion, I have no doubt that To Rome with Love isn't Allen's best work, but the "criticisms" you've presented show so many signs of out-of-touch, delusional thinking that they hardly can be believed at all, let alone accepted as flaws in the film.

[–] unglash 13 years ago

Obviously I have no proof he didn't write the movie, how coud I?
But, given the number of movies he shoots and taking all the other directors in history as a term of paragon, we can say it's not very likely that a man -an old man!- can do all that work.
All the "fast" directors take scripts which were written by others.. the directors who write their scrips ar equite slow. That's a fact.
Plus: was Allen so fast when he was younger? When he made all those movies full of Allen jokes, did he shoot a movie per year?
Come on...

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/tin-foil-h at.jpg

[–] unglash 13 years ago

You are showing everybody that you're just a product of a culture that tells you that a person is worth something and has a dignity only if that person is a "winner", not a "looser" like that guy in the picture. To you, that guy is just a nobody.

That's what people is driven to belive in the society of spectacle.
we have been taught by television that our goal in life is being rich and cool. We've been taught to hate ourselves if we are not like the model of man/woman we are shown in mass media. That's how we're kept in our place.

In the past, people were prevented from revolting with the lies of religion: you are desperate, but that's the world's order God wants.
Just like in the middle ages, when millions of peasants grown up in deep ignorance wasted all their life working for a small number of aristocratic families. They tought God would send them to hell if they did anything but serving well.

Now religion isn't necessary anymore, we have mass media controlled by the oligopolia that control everything else.
And instead of caring about the society we live in, we've been taught to fight for success, to care only about ourselves and our reaches, without realizing that we are not citizens but mere slaves who let the power be kept by a bunch of wealthy masters.

I'm sorry for you, but it's exactly because of the brainwash you are a victim of, that you cannot see what's wrong with this movie: how shallow it is in describing the society of spectacle and its antropology.
You're just like those persons in the movie, those who adore actors - and famous people in general - like if they were gods. But the lack of any, and I mean ANY, analysis of wich the movie suffers prevented you to see yourself as part of it.

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

You not only revealed that Allen don't write his scripts, but also analyzed me and my life by picture I posted.
Wow! It's like you looked into my soul! Man, you're good!

[–] unglash 13 years ago

No, it's just that we were all grown up to think the same way. You are just a common modern peasant, like most of us. But don't feel like it's your fault: in US even school brainwashes you, so it's hard to escape propaganda.

But Allen (?) wasn't able or did not want to explain you this.

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

Another insightful comment. You're on fire!
Just one little thing, I'm not from US.

[–] unglash 13 years ago

so what, i've already explained it's the same in every country where mass media are controlled by an oligoply of buillionaires.
p.s. i tought the schools you went to were crap, but that was just aa guess
now, PLEASE, can we stop talking about you? i'd like to discuss the movie.
stop trying to insult me and stop trying to trash this thread with OTs

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

You started talking about me, acting like you know me. Well, you're wrong on all points.
So yeah, stop talking about things you know nothing about.

And yes, I was mocking you, because you deserve being mocked with your stupid conspiracy theories.

[–] unglash 13 years ago

there's no director (not even in the past) who writes+shoots one movie per year. FACT
That's why I say it's unlikely that Allen writes all his movies

In regard to the little lesson i gave you on the culture of visibility: well, that's just what the movie is supposed to be about.

Now, if you are not a troll, just back off

[–] YellowManCow 13 years ago

Keep digging, unglash, you'll hit rock bottom eventually. What's interesting is that in your apparent hatred for anything tarnished by "mass media" you continue for months to post on a message board dedicated to movies/TV from your dreaded "mass media". It's a suspect obsession bordering on trollish.

But enjoy your hatred of "mass media". It's definitely given you a firm, logical base on which to form opinions.

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

There is. His name is Woody Allen. He's been doing it for 40 years now. FACT

In regard to the little meltdown you gave you should consult a doctor.
And whole "that's just what the movie is supposed to be about" is obnixiously stupid, it's his movie, you can't tell what it's supposed to be about.

[–] xm1 12 years ago

Yeah, there's no way Fassbinder did 40 films in 15 years.

[–] Danneq 12 years ago

Have you seen any Woody Allen movies made before Annie Hall? Such as Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Sleeper, Love and Death? I felt that there was a little bit of the same crazy screwball comedy in To Rome with Love as in old Woody movies from the 70's. I like it that he's in some sense come full circle in his film making.

Woody's not a Bergman or a Fellini. He's a guy who great at telling stories in a funny way.

[–] geoffmss 12 years ago

You've hit the nail on the head there. Actually this film has a feel of a live action Simpsons episode

[–] pd78w 12 years ago

The guy that sings under the shower in opera theatres is taken from that simpsons' episode...

It goes further back than that. The Flintstones had an episode where Barney Rubble could sing well in the shower and Fred convinces him to try out for a talent show—only to learn that, outside the shower, Barney has no singing ability whatsoever.

[–] akeshishian17969 13 years ago

Boy, you Italians are really cranky! Have some vino and cheer the hell up, Giuseppe!

[–] unglash 13 years ago

if you had read a few books in your life you would know italians aren't patriotic at all... we love self criticism. So it's not a matter of sciovinism, it's just that To Rome with love is in every way at the same level as Adam Sandler's movies, and it's quite surprising there's someone who doesn't realize that... it may be explained by that joke about american IQ scores.

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

1. You can't speak for all Italians. And being patriotic doesn't exclude self-criticism.
2. Surely overreacting/trolling with "WORST MOVIE" shtick.
3. You really think that your opinion defines someones IQ? Are you THAT arrogant?

[–] unglash 13 years ago

1. as i recall, both hobsbawm and chomsky wrote about italians not giving a f°°°k if people talk s°°t about italy. Just to mention two famous english speaking intellectuals.

2. WOODY ALLENS' worst movie

3. i was joking, sorry for not making that clear

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

1. OK, nobody talked s**t about Italy anyways.
2. If I had a nickel every time I see "WORST MOVIE" thread on imdb...
3. Very funny, especially that part where you don't understand how people can disagree with you.

[–] unglash 13 years ago

Well, I've watched (almost) every Allen's movie and I find this one to be undoubtedly the worst.

[–] kvarom 13 years ago

Generally I would ignore negative opinion, but writing "WORST EVER" put you in line with other ignorant "reviewers" scattered all over imdb. And now you call me stupid (you implied it) just because I doubt your judgement. Nice job! I hope it makes you feel better about yourself.

[–] unglash 13 years ago

no, actually i felt i did wrong. in fact i rewrote the comment below... i didn't notice you had already replied

[–] TheTaleTeller 13 years ago

kvarom, is really that hard to believe that TO ROME WITH LOVE... MAY be Woody Allen's worst film? I've seen his movies, I love them. I didn't like SCOOP and wasnt' really happy with HOLLYWOOD ENDING, but I even like THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, his worst film in Allen's opinion (I don't agree, though).

Have you already seen the film?

It's surely a shame to say that, but I'm not saying it's his worst film simply because I didn't like it. Considering his previous job, this movie is simple bad. It's like, where's Woody Allen here?

The production has all the flaws of italian mainstream comedies and that's a shame becuase, afterall, it's a Woody Allen film.

I'm not bashing the film because it's an italian production. Italian cinema has proven itself to be high quality cinema, even recently. So it's just absurd that all the worst defects of our productions are in this film as well.

A shame also because the movie had an interesting US cast, from Jesse Eisenberg to Ellen Page. They're just wasted here.

[–] mattyj2001 13 years ago

Is it possible this film was an homage to bad Italian cinema? :)

I saw it. I don't like Woody Allen at all. Hate most things he's done that I've seen. This one stands on its own as a somewhat entertaining movie, in some aspects. Maybe kinda. I could watch Penelope Cruz all day. Alec Baldwin was okay. He was the only thing holding that terrible vignette together. At least he put the three most terrible actors together in one story to get them out of the way.

So as a non-fan, it was decent. I've certainly seen many more terrible movies this year.

[–] deadbunny28 13 years ago

I'm gonna stop you there, but nothing is worst than his one-note thinks its so funny 'Whats up Tiger Lily'...that movie got annoying after 10 minutes...

[–] bellamae 11 years ago

I think "Interiors" gets that title.

[–] drzaius12 13 years ago

I really loved the early funny ones.

[–] Danneq 12 years ago

I've seen ALL of Woody's movies up 'til Scoop (Besides Midnight in Paris, I've kind of missed the other movies since then), and To Rome with Love is FAR FROM the worst one. Take Shadows and Fog. I like the idea to do a version of Kafka's The Process, but the movie is a sleeping pill. Alice, Another Woman, Small time Crooks, Hollywood Ending and Match Point are other movies that I think aren't as good as To Rome with Love.

[–] hbotis 12 years ago

You are right. one of the worst 3 ever.

[–] hbotis 12 years ago

It's bad and a sad effort, not very good by any stretch with Allen's previous works.

It strained to be funny, and rather old school banal in the 21 st C.

[–] littlekaren 13 years ago

Kglash and Tale Teller's opinions are much admired by me!

[–] caugusto16 13 years ago

I don't know if this is his worst film but it wasn't good at all. I agree with most of your complaints, especially:

they choose popular italian actors but surely not the best ones. Alessandra Mastronardi and Alessandro Tiberi are awful from the very beginning, when they say they'll miss their hometown (Pordenone, in North Italy) with a clear roman accent. They both act like if they were in a high school play.
Roberto Benigni simply plays himself as always.
Other actors are too unbelievable in their roles (Antonio Albanese as a sex symbol??? Are you kidding me???).

Most of the actors here are either wasted (Davis, Cruz, Pill, Finocchiaro, Marchioni), miscast (Page, Albanese) or downright awful (Mastronardi, Benigni). But what surprised me the most was how the movie simply didn't go anywhere: Benigni's segment makes no sense, Allen's consists of one unfunny gag, Mastronardi/Tiberi's is filled with clichés and Eisenberg's is mildly interesting if predictable. I really struggle to single out memorable lines or scenes... the beautiful shots of Rome are pretty much the only redeeming quality.

EDIT: I also didn't get why the actors from the newlyweds segment are dressed up as if they were living in the 1960s.

http://tinyurl.com/6tz7y96

[–] OneFilmLover 13 years ago

I respect most of the opinions being expressed on this thread. I hope 'To Rome With Love' is not his 'worst movie ever' ('Anything Else' is his worst in my opinion) but I will make up my mind about that when I see the film in June.

There. It's on the Internet. Thus it's official

[–] coral-scala 13 years ago

Not the WORST!!!
But definitely ONE OF THE WORST!!!
Cliché-ridden and often stupid!!!

[–] akeshishian17969 13 years ago

Take anything Italians have to say about the film with a MASSIVE grain of salt.

[–] caugusto16 13 years ago

Exactly: only Americans can properly judge films.

I have the feeling you wouldn't be saying that if the reviews were positive.

http://tinyurl.com/6tz7y96

[–] Aulic Exclusiva 13 years ago

It's the kind of regard on Italians that one might have if, say, one were born in Brooklyn 76 years ago.

Snobbery is a form of romanticism, the chastity of the perfectionist

[–] coral-scala 13 years ago

Dead on, Aulic Exclusiva!!!
But not his absolute worst!!!
"You'll Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" was far more stupid and disappointing!!!

[–] pacwarbuff 13 years ago

But not his absolute worst!!!
"You'll Meet the Man of Your Dreams" was far more stupid and disappointing!!!

If you're referring to You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, which is a film I enjoyed immensely, then I eagerly look forward to this newest one.

[–] akeshishian17969 13 years ago

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger was terrific!

[–] JimHalpertt 13 years ago

Geez, the Italian family at the next table sure is quiet.

~ I'm a farmer, who's ever heard of a fatalistic farmer? ~

[–] elbarto643 13 years ago

~~~TheTaleTeller Writes ALLENS WORST FILM EVER~~~

Worse than "Whatever Works" and "You will meet a Tall Dark Stranger?" Unlikely.