I always like seeing movies, and in particular romances, starring middle-aged actors, because Hollywood can be a very agist town that relegates anyone over fifty to kooky grandparents. A Fine Romance stars Julie Andrews and Marcello Mastroianni, and it has a very intriguing premise. Julie's husband and Marcello's wife run away together, and the jilted spouses meet up hoping to come up with a plan to get them back. Unfortunately, the follow-through after the initial set-up isn't that great. The screenplay is very odd, so don't be prepared for anything mainstream about this "fine" romance. For one example, Julie has a 22-year-old son who throws temper tantrums; for another, Julie checks Marcello into a health spa for no apparent reason.
The biggest focus of the film are the two vastly different characters. Julie is English, prim, proper, and unexpressive. Marcello is an Italian drunkard who weeps one moment and makes a pass in another. Although I don't know why Marcello's character wasn't just written to be French. He looked, talked, and acted far more French than Italian, and it wouldn't have been the first time foreign actors changed nationalities and expected audiences not to notice. But, with these two opposites failing to attract, they also have two different approaches to the screenplay. Julie takes her role as the jilted wife seriously, and whenever she speaks you think it's a drama. Marcello is the full-time comic relief who's under the impression that the film is a comedy. As I said, the film is odd, from start to finish, so know what you're getting into when you rent it.
