Under the Tuscan Sun

This overly sappy romantic film is redeemed by Diane Lane's on-screen warmth that makes even a tired Hollywood "chick flick" seem fresh. Lane stars as Frances, a writer whose husband has been dallying with a young student. She divorces him and goes into a deep funk -- retreating to an icky furnished apartment and hiding. Her dyke friends Patty and Katherine are going to have a baby so they give Frances their gay Tuscan bus trip tickets. On the trip she meets a nasty passenger played to the gay bitch hilt by Dan Bucatinksy (All Over the Guy) and spies a Tuscan villa for sale -- which she decides to buy on a whim. She hires a Polish work crew to renovate and falls in love with an Italian Lothario. All-in-all, simple Hollywood tripe but there are a few surprises. The dyke Patty is played by Sandra Oh with a refreshing lack of pomposity and she shows up for most of the second half of the film. But what really saves this film is Diane Lane. When is Hollywood going to wake up and figure out that this woman fills a screen with emotion?

Scott Cranin