Um Amor na Itália

SXSW 2020 Greetings again from the darkness. Expectations were sky high for the latest from writer-director Jeff Baena. His twisted humor was evident in THE LITTLE HOURS (2017), and he has collaborated again with his HORSE GIRL (2020) co-writer Alison Brie, who also takes the lead role. The assembled cast is filled to the brim with folks who have proven comedy chops, and much of the film takes place in gorgeous Italy. What could go wrong? Well, technically nothing goes wrong, it's just not as right as we hoped.

Alison Brie stars as Amber, a dedicated 9-year manager of the Bakersfield, California Tuscan Grove restaurant. It's a chain of Italian fast casual clearly meant to mock Olive Garden, and we get multiple shots of their pre-packaged bulk Alfredo sauce. When Amber's District Manager (Lil Rey Henry) informs her that she's been selected for an all-expense paid trip to Italy for the company's immersion program, she's thrilled to have some excitement in her life - plus her friend (Ego Nwodim) floats the idea of her finding love on the trip.

The group of managers is disappointed when the promised Italian villa is actually next door to the non-descript box motel where their rooms are located (Amber has a view of dumpsters). Sessions are held in a bland conference room, and those sessions are mostly unnecessary cooking lessons run by Lauren Weedman, offering no flavor of the country's culture. The fun here is derived from the interplay between the characters/actors. Zach Woods plays Dana, an over-the-top superfan of Tuscan Grove and its owner; Tim Heidecker is Fran, the full-of-himself type; Ayden Mayeri is the giggly one; Debby Ryan the aloof participant; and Molly Shannon frets incessantly over her lost luggage and erases all boundaries once Amber offers to lend her some clothes. The facilitator of the sessions is oddball Craig (Ben Sinclair), who excels in moments that beg, "was that supposed to be funny?" The dynamics change when Tuscan Grove owner Nick (Alessandro Nivola) drops in to the sessions with his assistant Kat (Aubrey Plaza, married to director Jeff Baena). Nick takes an immediate shine to Amber and their scene aboard his yacht is one of the film's best. His attraction seems to stem from the fact that she favors his deceased sister. That's wrong on so many levels. Beyond that, when Amber and Kat take off for a spin through the town, it's another highlight, as Ms. Plaza and Ms. Brie play off each other magnificently.

There is a creepy element to the film. The manager's retreat plays out differently than hoped, and the names Dana and Fran play a significant role in what is actually going on. Nick's actions are a bit disturbing, and Kat's role could easily be interpreted as falling into the Ghislaine Maxwell category. And then there is a tonal shift to the point where it seems we may be in the midst of a murder mystery. It's all a bit chaotic, but never quite as funny or tense as we hope.

Ms. Brie has a wonderful screen presence as she bounces from naïve to hopeful to confused to concerned. Mr. Nivola is also terrific flashing the charisma in TV ads and then transitioning to the soulful, manipulative, entitled rich scumbag. The contrast in the story is as distinct as the two books mentioned, Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love", and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "News of a Kidnapping". Few movies combine the blandness of Bakersfield, the romance of Italy, near slapstick comedy, the suspense of a thriller, the lameness of corporate America, a kinky sex party, and a pack of stampeding wild boars. It's a lot to take on, and some parts work better than others. While we expected it to be more clever, just know going in that you should be like Amber - guarded with an open-mind.

In the lightest and sometimes strangest comedy of the year, Spin Me Round, a manager of Italian Grille (think Olive Garden), Amber (Alison Brie), wins a trip to a corporate immersion program in Italy, enthusiastic about vacating her humdrum life in Bakersfield, Ca. Other winner managers of varying eccentricities are played by top-drawer comic actors Tim Heidecker, Debby Ryan, Zach Woods, Ayden Mayeri, and Molly Shannon.

Her fantasies are of adventure and maybe hookup, maybe love. She gets all three but not as innocent as she thought they might be. Although this is a whimsical comedy, underneath lies writer/director Jeff Baena and writer Alison Brie's satire of middle-class naivete, ambitions, and the plague of sexual harassment. We can best understand the depression of a pandemic that seemed to deflate our most wishful sailing to a place of dreams.

Given that the exciting adventure of her life may be applying a commercial Alfredo sauce at work to pasta and seeing it "spin around" the microwave, it's easy to see her being a victim of the rich, handsome chain owner, Nick (Alessandro Nivola). That she doesn't see lust in the eyes of American expats at a party, who view her as easy pickings, is about the best indicator of her vulnerability.

That she doesn't pick up on the cheesy way the party host (Fred Amisen) lip-synchs to "The Lady in Red" as she enters the party in her crimson gown is a further hint that Spin Me Around is light fare, and she is not prepared for the absurdity.

With the equally stereotypical Euro-thriller music from composer Pino Donagio, the audience is prepared for the satire of post-Fellini decadence with a dash of humor. The Agatha Christie-like murder speculations lend a further light tone to a story that could have gone into The Twilight Zone.

Spin Me Around is a beautifully photographed bit of fluff, just right for the end of the summer, a pause to reflect on our dreams as they invariably disappoint. Reality bites.

This was disappointing. It felt pretty long / poorly edited, it wasn't snappy, it was rarely funny, it was often awkward, it just feels like the script wasn't good enough, the story isn't good enough, and I'm a fan of the absurd and the two female leads. But this was just weak, aimless, and ultimately frustrating.

Amber (Alison Brie) is a manager of an Italian restaurant chain in Bakersfield, California. It's an Olive Garden type situation. Amber wins a corporate retreat trip to Italy. Once she arrives, suspicious situations arise. She is invited by the beloved company owner Nick Martucci (Alessandro Nivola) on a personal trip. She is befriended by his assistant Kat (Aubrey Plaza).

Everybody is capable of doing a bit of quirky and that's what happens. It's mildly funny in its quirkiness. Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza are great. I also love Zach Woods. These are great comedic performers. This has great potential, but the mystery needs some work. It needs some tension. The mystery needs to start sooner and be more involved. The writing needs work.

You know those movies that start out strong and build up a compelling plot, only to lose themselves in the final quarter and go down a convoluted road? This is one of those movies.

The first 2/3 is actually really interesting. It's sort of similar to "don't worry darling"- a seemingly normal universe that gets more and more absurd as time goes on. It's a comedy, mystery, thriller, and romance all wrapped into one.

And then- it's ruined by a rather flat ending. It feels like someone just didn't write an ending. I think this had the potential to be really great, but squandered it. Ultimately, only watch this if you're okay with a good journey but bad destination.