Now before you ladies reading this say something about this premise being a universal truth, read on because you're going to be very happy with this movie (and hopefully my review of it). The movie centers on a group of guys and their women. The stories are all intertwined but the lead story deals with a man, Carlo (StefanoAccorsi), who is married and finds out his wife is pregnant. She is very beautiful but begins talking about getting a house and settling down. At a friend's wedding, he runs into a young woman, Francesca (Martina Stella), who is nothing short of breathtaking (looking very much like a pre-surgery Jenna Jameson) and finds him attractive. As one thing leads to another, he struggles with the age-old question of fidelity. His other friends include Alberto (Marco Cocci) who has sex more than any man alive, but with different women each night; Adriano (Giorgio Pasotti) who is tied down with his live-in girlfriend and their baby; a man who stalks his ex-girlfriend and seeks to run away from his family business while his father is about to die, and his father-in-law, who lives for work, neglecting his wife to the point she wants to leave him.

In this rich cast of characters, each couple have problems with the male wanting to leave his responsibilities and walk away for the supposed freedom of life on the road. The women don't help much by screaming endlessly, acting like co-dependent harpies, and treating the men like possessions. As each man sorts out his fate, with the help of his friends, the themes of responsibility vs. personal freedom and making the best of the hand you're dealt arise repeatedly. Thankfully, they are handled well and the characters, while initially very non-sympathetic, show they are all capable of growth and the material is handled in such a way as to allow us to understand what could have easily ended up as a group of caricatures. There was even a couple on parade that showed how age doesn't beget wisdom, yet they share in the problems of dealing with life's little disappointments (and each other) to.

Okay, the group I saw this movie with was divided into two major factions: the women thought the men were exactly accurate in terms of real life and the men who thought the women were exactly accurate in terms of real life (with both factions thinking their own gender was exaggerated a whole lot). I had started falling into the same defensive trap they had until the comments started rolling off everyone's tongues and caught myself early on. The movie showed a lot of passion about the topic at hand and while I think it relied too heavily on stereotypes, I also think it made a lot of solid observations about the gender wars. That it offered a few solutions, albeit incomplete solutions, was just icing on the cake.

The acting and direction were well done and the women looked great (especially young Ms. Stella). The technical aspects also contributed to the enjoyment of the movie and the ending was a bit bittersweet (suggesting a few things but allowing the viewer to interject as they see fit). I think this one was worth a rating of Recommended although I'm sure many of you will see it even more favorably than that. Check it out if you want to see what amounts to a semi-balanced view of the gender wars from a male's perspective.

Picture: The picture was presented in anamorphic widescreen color with a ratio of 2.35:1, the original aspect ratio, not the 1.85:1 advertised on the DVD box. While there was some minor grain and slight over saturation of the colors in a few scenes, on balance those moments were few and far between. There was a bit of edge enhancement going on throughout the movie but nothing major and the fleshtones seemed accurate most of the time. I didn't see any compression artifacts in two viewings and think the picture looked pretty solid most of the time.

Sound: The audio was presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital surround Italian with optional subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The audio was very crisp and clear with some great separation during sections of the movie. The vocals and music were mixed decently and I have nothing bad to say about them. I liked the soundtrack across the board and the yellow colored subtitles were solid.

Extras: There was a generic trailer for Miramax but that's it; not even a paper insert or trailer for the movie.

Final Thoughts: The Italian title was L'Ultimo Bacio and I think it provided a good look at modern-day relationships that goes beyond the contemporary Italian setting. With a host of casual observations that were more hit than miss, Gabriele Muccino provided a movie worth checking out, in a manner that certainly elicited comments from the peanut gallery.