On reading the summary I expected a much duller film. The big plus for me was that this is the sort of film Hollywood would destroy. It is gentle yes, absurdist yes but it neither denigrates ageing nor does it laugh at it. It is as if our protagonist woke up one day to realise he is getting old. We all know that, with luck, this moment is waiting patiently for us. He never really knows what to do next and is really hopeless with the laydeez! He lacks the confidence and assertiveness that make women notice a man, and is too prepared to be everyone's gofer. The ending is just fine too. There was never going to be a fairytale ending, though getting closer to his wife might have been an idea!

Being someone of a similar age, & in a vaguely similar situation, I felt very sympathetic to the central character. But it just wasn't enough. I love gentle, wry comedy, 50s films such as The Ladykillers being among my favourites, but there was always something else, something more darkly comic & sardonic going on beneath the surface of such films.

This was a pleasant film, but slight in the extreme; full of commonplaces, all performed with a sigh & a shrug of the shoulders, his friend was a stereotype, so were the girls, he seemed to have no real interest in anything. The only thing which made me laugh was the wheel spinning nuns. And I really couldn't see the significance of the ending.

There are worse ways to kill a couple of hours, but life, as the lead character evidently knows, is far too short for that!

Saw - and enjoyed - this Italian comedy drama recently at our local Arts Centre film club. This rich slice of late middle aged Gianni's (Gianni de Gregorio, who is also the film's director) life is one of being ignored by his wife, avoiding his eccentric mother and being jealous of all his friends who seem to still have what it takes with the ladies...

Modestly staged, filmed mostly in one cramped town house and with a script that seems at times to be ad-libbed, there's a certain enthusiasm about it all, a relish for life and one of wishing for the finer things in life.

Subsequently, he tries to chat up the ladies but the smallest of obstacles upset his plans, including his mother's thirst for innocent (but costly) gambling with her friends. One of the comedic highlights is when Gianni is told that a little blue pill is all he needs for an invigorated love life - and he doesn't realise exactly how that might come about. It's tastefully done, I have to add!

Seemably using much the same cast as he did with 'Mid August Lunch' Di Gregorio keeps it 'in the family', low key and undoubtedly, cheap.

This little film won't pick up the awards at Cannes and can seem just a little disorganised, but its quiet charm warmed over all that went to see it, including me. Recommended as something a little different and not too heavy, not too long either - suitable for the older generation, too. Also, a good alternative to a trashy rom-com if you're renting.