Mid-July. Under the Tuscan sun. Probably a very good reason not to see Audrey Wells’ postcard pretty,
clichéd adaptation of Frances Mayes’ bestselling novel about personal reinvention post-divorce. Therapy
through scenery for rich American divorcées is ideal chick-flick material, and if added to the mix are
amusing locals and their charming ways, quaint foreigners with their difficulties of integration, and the
obligatory toy-boy/hunk, the formula hardly improves. Even a would-have-been Fellini starlet transmits
only a dash of local colour. Rising above this, and just about holding the picture together is a strong
performance from Diane Lane – at least in the first half – before the movie finally loses touch with
reality. Under the Tuscan Sun? Go to the beach.
