Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Starring: Cher,  Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Baird Wallace, Lily Tomlin

- Reviewed by Kerri

Ah, the cast. Ah, the scenery. Ah, the Cher. This movie had so much potential... but didn't deliver. Not even dear Judi Dench could save it. Yet I can't quite put my finger on what went wrong. The premise was enticing... taking place during the beginning of WWII, a group of retired English ladies in Florence find themselves "the enemy" when Britain and Italy declare war. They are whisked off to prison and are dependent on an Italian boy named Luca to help them through these times. The scenery was breathtaking—I was told to watch this film in preparation for a trip to Italy, as it contains lovely shots of San Gimignano, Florence, and the Italian hillsides. The cast was good: Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin, and of course, Cher. Each did a great job in their respective parts, especially Maggie Smith as the annoyed English aristocrat who refuses to believe this is happening to her. However, none of these elements worked together to produce a good film.

There were some weird sub-stories with Elsa (Cher)'s Italian lover and his desire to reveal her Jewish identity and send her to the chambers. Somehow, she never pulled off that she really loved him like the story unfolded. Lily Tomlin's lesbian character seemed out of place and unnecessary; likewise was the role of Paul Chequer as a nephew who must dress up as a girl to escape the guards. Even Judi Dench's character as an artist seemed forced and extraneous. And can we really believe that Italian guards would whisk these ladies away to San Gimignano and its beautiful countryside, rather than placing them in prison in the hottest city in Italy? Can we say plotholes, anyone?

The story of Luca (Baird Wallace) the boy who pulled all this together, was easily the most engaging part of this film, and was almost ruined by an attempt to have him fall in love with Elsa. However, keep an eye out for Wallace, as I believe he will easily find more roles in more movies to come. It's not very often I would pinpoint someone as able to steal the scene from Cher; however this boy did so beautifully.

I was bored thirty minutes into the film, and had to watch it over the course of three days, not really paying much attention. It gets three slices: one for Baird Wallace, one for the scenery, and one well, because it does have Cher in it, after all.

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