Puccini for Beginners

 

 

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Allegra (Elizabeth Reaser, "The Family Stone" but probably more recognizable as "Jane Doe" from last season of "Grey's Anatomy") has commitment issues, which explains why her girlfriend, Samantha (Julianne Nicholson, "Little Black Book"), has dumped her. However, she ends up questioning both her sexuality and her sanity when she falls for Philip (Justin Kirk, "Weeds"). Yes, he is a man, but he is a college professor capable of engaging in verbal sparring and he actually likes opera. If that were not enough complication in her life, Allegra, begins a relationship with another woman, Grace (Gretchen Mol, "The Notorious Bettie Page"), who has just broken up with her boyfriends of six years and never been with a woman before. But, wait, there is more. Grace's ex-boyfriend is Philip and as the "Prologue" of this 2006 film makes clear, yes, everything is going to hit the fan for Allegra in a big way.

Actually, there is not a lot of Puccini in "Puccini for Beginners," although some of the characters go to a production of "Turandot" at the beginning. Philip takes Allegra to see "Don Giovanni," but that is Mozart. In one of the deleted scenes the violinist on the street near the end was playing "Nessun dorma," but that got gut at the end. But then in the trailer the opera music is from "La Donna e Mobile" from "Rigoletto," which is written by Verdi (I do not really think the aria's rant about the fickleness of women really fits the character, but the music is recognizable), which only goes to prove that you do not need to know a lot about Puccini to appreciate this screwball comedy. To the extent that "Turandot" is an apt metaphor for what takes place (the way Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to see "La Traviata" in "Pretty Woman"), Allegra tells you all you need to know when she says the opera is about having to pass a test for the sake of love, with dire consequences if you fail.

Yes, "Allegra" is the brand name of an antihistamine drug, the name of the heiress to the fashion house Versace, and the name of the illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron and Claire Clairmont (Mary Shelley's step-sister), but it is also an Italian name for a female meaning "gay" or "happy." Such meanings have meaning for this movie because by thinking she is not the former our heroine may be ruining her chances to be the latter. The name is also related to the musical tempo "allegro," which means "quick and lively" or, literally, "cheerful." That would also provide an ironic encapsulation of our heroine who has to be quick to juggle the two relationships, but does not have the time to be all that cheerful.

Many viewers will be reminded more of Woody Allen movies that Puccini operas anyway, especially "Annie Hall," what with the New York City location, the use of comic subtitles, strangers getting involved in commenting on the proceedings, and the idea that Allegra is not as smart as she thinks. Fortunately, Reaser is not channeling Allen and her restrained performance keeps this one grounded as the complex situation drives towards its inevitable and painful collapse. There are just a pair of deleted scenes and the original theatrical trailer included in the DVD extras, but the commentary track with director Maria Maggenti ("The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love") and editor Susan Graef does an above average job of focusing on how the film was made in terms of cutting, rewriting, and all the thousand natural decisions that making a film is heir to, especially when you only shoot for 18 days and have 8 weeks to edit Final Note: I would not think of "Holiday" as being a screwball comedy, certainly not in the same league as "Bringing Up Baby," and if you were going to reference a Katharine Hepburn film in this movie I would think "Sylvia Scarlett" is the (perhaps too) obvious choice.

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