The 4th Tenor
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Movie Reviews of The 4th Tenor
Movie Review: Truly enjoyable, lovely
Summary: 5 Stars
Similar to "Christmas in the Clouds," truly a simple, enjoyable, special movie. Made us feel good. Typical funny Mr. Dangerfield, truly worth watching. We're going to watch it for the 2nd time this week. Highly recommend this movie.Movie Review: Rodney Dangerfield Has Aged Like Fine Wine!
Summary: 4 Stars
Rodney Dangerfield plays Lupo, the owner of the Serenade Cafe, a very successful Italian restaurant that features singing waiters. Rodney is in his eighties but still manages to fire off some great jokes. When a couple asks him how he keeps his weight down, he replies, "At my age, everything is down!" When he asks an overweight couple how they're enjoying their meal, they grunt their approval while they keep on eating. He warns them, "When you get to the white part, that's the plate!" Lupo hires a female opera singer to entertain the diners. When Gina sings, Lupo falls madly in love with her. Gina (Annabelle Gurwitch) tells him that she can only love a man who is a great opera singer. Since Lupo can't carry a tune, he flies to Italy to be trained as an opera singer by Vincenzo (Richard Libertini). No matter how bad he sings, Vincenzo keeps encouraging him to keep taking lessons so he can keep taking Lupo's money. Vincenzo persuades the local opera company to let Lupo sing. Lupo is so bad that the villagers chase him off the stage and down the streets. The scene of him being chased by villagers carrying torches is reminiscent of a similar scene from Frankenstein! Lupo finally reaches a dock, finds a rowboat and paddles his way to safety. The next morning, he washes ashore on a pond and is found by a young boy, who calls his mother. She is the beautiful Rosa (Anita De Simone) who takes pity on Lupo and takes him home. There we meet her Mamma (Elsa Raven) and Papa (Hamilton Camp) who also take a liking to Lupo. Lupo listens to the family singing as they work, and can't believe how great they all sing. Rosa lets him in on their family secret. The grapes they grow produces a magical wine, and anyone who drinks the wine becomes a great singer! Lupo returns to America and, with a constant supply of wine, becomes the opera singing sensation Lupo the Great! Unfortunately, Gina still wants no part of him. When Lupo discovers that Rosa is going through with an arranged marriage to Marcello (Vincent Schiavelli), a man she doesn't love, he flies back to Italy to stop the wedding. Lupo's attempts to get to the church on time, first on horseback and then with the help of the police, outdoes Dustin Hoffman's similar scene in The Graduate! Lupo arrives just in time to stop the wedding and profess his love for Rosa.This movie has a more leisurely pace than Rodney's previous films, with less one-liners and more character development. The pastoral scenes in Italy are visually beautiful and give the movie a magical quality. On the other hand, the scenes of the restaurant and surrounding streets in New York City have the look of a soundstage in a movie studio. Considering the peak of the Three Tenors' popularity and Rodney Dangerfield's age, I'm sure this movie would have found a much bigger audience if it had been made several years ago.
Movie Review: Rodney's last film is a charming but lukewarm comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
Being a longtime Rodney Dangerfield fan, I looked forward to "The 4th Tenor" with both curiosity & caution. It's a cute little movie that could've been better. Rodney tries hard, but at such an advanced age, he just doesn't have much left to give. The film lacks the classic zingers Rodney delivered in such earlier films as "Caddyshack" & "Easy Money".
On the other hand, "The 4th Tenor" doesn't try to be those films. It's not a raucous, sophomoric comedy, but a more subtle one that aims for smiles & chuckles instead of belly laughs. It works as a sort of Italian fairy tale, or one man's quest for love. It also operates on the romantic notion that the way to a woman's heart is through song.
But Rodney's character of a sincere but lovestruck restaurant owner is so endearing that you're with him all the way...even through a rather lukewarm vehicle. He does get able support from a fine cast: Robert Davi, Charles Fleischer (yes, the voice of Roger Rabbit), and Hamilton Camp, to name a few.
So long, Rodney. Whether your films were terrific or mediocre, you still made me laugh. Thanks for so much! : )
Movie Review: I really wanted to love it, really
Summary: 2 Stars
This could have been a nice little movie; it almost is. The plot is blissfully uncomplicated, much like a Marx Brother's film, but even at his oldest, Groucho never seemed as old as Rodney does in this DVD. The idea of going to the ends of the earth to win the love of your lady is timeless. But with a thirty-something leading lady and an eighty-something leading man, searching for your Viagara and your teeth would seem like a more realistic quest. I'm especially disappointed that there were no memorable "Rodney lines" like in Caddy Shack - "Oh that's the worst looking hat I ever saw ... looks good on YOU though." A sweethearted, non-wise cracking Rodney didn't work for me. Honestly, I feel bad not loving this movie. I am a Rodney fan - have all of his records (yup, on vinyl), DVDs and CDs too. I have seen him live and use his lines all day long - "I went to the doctor, I said doc, when I wake up and I look in the mirror, I wanna throw up, what's wrong with me? he said, I don't know, but your eyesight's perfect!" But in this film he was mis-cast. Picture Billy Crystal in the lead and you know what I mean. Anyway, if you love Rodney, maybe you shouldn't see this movie. It's just too painful. I had to go watch Caddy Shack a couple of times to get over it.
I originally wrote this review back in June of 2004 - Rodney was still with us and making those around him laugh. He's gone and there will never be another,
Movie Review: Finally Singing Gets some Respect
Summary: 2 Stars
A very odd film, and the other reviewers are right that Rodney was too old for the part. However, lovers of opera may actually enjoy this flick for the singing (other than Rodney when he's not using the magic wine) and the respectful treatment of the world's greatest art form.
I looks like Rodney or his producers actually knew something about the art of singing and liked it. Rosa, her mother and father and the other 'real singers' all are portrayed to sing beautifully, naturally, and sincerely. There's not a hint of the sarcasm and caricature that the typical Hollywood cultural ignorance could have applied. The movie accepts the thesis that bel canto singing is worthwhile on its own terms, and not just as a celebrity vehicle for the Three Tenors, or an art form to be marginalized by the mainstream of pop culture.
Although I'm sure he didn't set out to make a music education film, Bravo Rodney!