LANE RISES ABOVE HALF-BAKED 'TUSCAN SUN'.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic DIANE LANE Diane Lane (born January 22 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. Biography Early life Lane was born in New York City, the daughter of Colleen Farrington, a night club singer and Playboy makes Italy look good. Not that the hilly hill·y adj. hill·i·er, hill·i·est 1. Having many hills. 2. Similar to a hill; steep. hill landscapes and Old World towns of Tuscany need any physical adornment. But ``Under the Tuscan Sun,'' a kind of romance novel A romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. To be considered a part of the romance genre, a novel should place its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally movie version of Frances Mayes' super-popular nonfiction account of buying a home in every American's most romanticized European region (if they can't afford Provence, that is), needs all the help Lane can provide. Which is not so much the veteran actress's natural loveliness as her uncanny ability to lend emotional immediacy, depth and complexity to even the most hackneyed situations that are director Audrey Wells' screenplay's inventions. Desperate to impose narrative conventions on Mayes' musings, Wells borrows from sources as highbrow high·brow adj. also high·browed Of, relating to, or being highly cultured or intellectual: They only attend highbrow events such as the ballet or the opera. n. (if overused) as Shakespeare and Fellini and as recent and formulaic as the last movie that sent Meg Ryan or Marisa Tomei on a tour of the Continent. Lane freshens up every stale idea with the sheer breadth of her talent and unforced charm. But even she can't completely distract us from the fact that amid all the setting's blossoming bucolic beauty and singular artisanship, we're mainly being offered recycled goods. Playing a very different version of Mayes than the real one, Lane's writer/professor/reviewer heroine leaves San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden after discovering her husband has been cheating. Flush with cash from the divorce settlement but left essentially homeless (there are some funny bits in a Bay Area Oakwood Apartments equivalent), devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. Frances agrees to a pregnant lesbian pal's (Sandra Oh's Patti) offer to take her place on an all-gay bus tour of Italy. Friendly as the queer folk are, Frances still feels lonely in Tuscany. She jumps the coach outside the small town of Cortona, where she abruptly closes a deal on a 300-year-old villa that needs a lot of work. Now genuinely isolated, she has to fix the place up while still trying to figure out what on Earth to do with her life. Fortunately for her, if not us, there are all kinds of helpful Europeans around to give sage advice and spout metaphorical life lessons. The nicest real estate agent in the world (Vincent Riotta) makes her feel sexy again although, frustrating the stereotype (and to Frances), he insists on remaining faithful to his wife. That's OK, since dashing antiques dealer Marcello (Raoul Bova Raoul Bova (born 14 August 1971 Rome, Italy) is an Italian actor. His father is an employee of Alitalia Airline and his mother is a housewife. He has two sisters, Daniela and Tiziana, with whom he is very close. At the age of 16 he became a champion with the S.S. ) has no such qualms. Meanwhile, in the village, an aging English beauty (Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Tony Award-winning Scottish actress. She is a noted stage actress, winning the Tony Award for Private Lives. Duncan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland to a father who served in the army for 21 years. ) teaches by example how a woman may enjoy life to the fullest, or at least drink enough to convince herself she is. But Frances, no surprise, learns to live again while improving her property, cooking up a storm for her three Polish construction workers (and guiding a mismatched romance between a local girl and the youngest of them) and even playing compassionate godmother once pal Patti comes over for a permanent visit. But complete fulfillment - i.e., true love - remains an elusive commodity. So does anything resembling a surprising or organic plot turn. But ``Tuscan Sun'' makes for an eye-pleasing travelogue - which is at least half the battle won for a project like this - and our on-screen on·screen or on-screen adj. & adv. 1. As shown on a movie, television, or display screen. 2. Within public view; in public. tour guide could not be more beguiling. Lane just gets better and better with each new project. Would somebody please put her in one that's worthy of her gifts? Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN - Two and one half stars (PG-13: sex, language) Starring: Diane Lane, Sandra Oh Sandra Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and a three-time Emmy Award-nominated Canadian actress. She is known to American audiences for her role as Dr. , Lindsay Duncan, Raoul Bova, Vincent Riotta. Director: Audrey Wells. Running time: 1 hr. 53 min. Playing: Citywide. In a nutshell: The always enthralling en·thrall tr.v. en·thralled, en·thrall·ing, en·thralls 1. To hold spellbound; captivate: The magic show enthralled the audience. 2. To enslave. Lane and similarly pleasing Tuscany locations counterbalance every Italian holiday cliche that wasn't in Frances Mayes' source book but which nevertheless wormed its way into the screenplay. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Diane Lane gives life to a very different character than that of the nonfiction book that preceded ``Under the Tuscan Sun.'' |
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