If bisexual screwball comedy is a genre, then
this hilarious film is an excellent example of it.
The official plot description: "Opera fan
Allegra loves Samantha, but she won't say so. Grace loves Philip
but he won't marry her. Samantha leaves Allegra. Allegra meets
Philip. Philip leaves Grace. Allegra falls for Philip. Allegra
meets Grace. Grace falls for Allegra. Allegra falls for Grace.
Allegra sees Philip and Grace simultaneously and has no idea
they're exes." In short, lesbian falls for man, straight
woman falls for her, hilarity ensues.
Writer/director Maria Maggenti (The Incredibly
True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) serves up a sparkling
romance (several of them, in fact!) with witty dialog, while
also managing a clever commentary on gender and sexuality as
applied to relationships. In some ways, it's the kind of sophisticated
but neurotic New York romantic comedy that Woody Allen used
to do so well, but with a nice twist. Its charms never seem
forced, rather they flow naturally from a funny script performed
by a perfect cast. At just 82 minutes in length, it says all
it needs to without ever outstaying its welcome.
Despite being a low budget production shot on
digital video, it doesn't look it because the cinematography
of Mauricio Rubinstein is suitably bright and polished. Editor
Susan Graef keeps the proceedings well-paced, and reportedly
conceived of moving a key scene to the beginning, which really
sets up the rest of the film rather nicely.
Elizabeth Reaser has great comic timing and facial
expressions as Allegra, while making her conflicted character
very sympathetic to the audience. Gretchen Mol is a believably
ditzy blonde as Grace, while Justin Kirk makes a charming Philip.
Also deserving of notice are the performances of Julianne Nicholson
as Samantha; Tina Benko as Nell, another ex of Allegra's; Jennifer
Dundas as Molly, Allegra's best friend; and Brian Letscher as
Samantha's fiancé.
Puccini for Beginners is the funniest
romantic comedy that I've seen in a very long time, and its
postmodern take on sexuality is refreshing. Highly recommended.
