Friday, March 18, 2011

Light in the Piazza (1962)


MGM
Directed by Guy Green
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

Olivia de Havilland and Yvette Mimieux are mother and daughter vacationing in Italy. George Hamilton is a local boy who falls in love with Yvette. Mom tries to stop it, but the two romp around like pre-teens with their first crushes despite being much older. It turns out Yvette had a head injury as a child and though physically in her 20's has "the mind of a 10 year old". This explains the crying fits, bubble baths and fondness for stuffed animals. It does not, however, explain Hamilton's equally juvenile behavior. Well, Mom wants to get Yvette married so she can lead a normal life and this seems like a perfect opportunity. Dad shows up and expresses his displeasure for awhile but soon jets back to America. The Italian boy's parents seem equally determined to get their son married, and for awhile I thought maybe they were the ones that were going to reveal that he had some kind of head injury. Alas, it all leads to a predictable happy ending.

No comments:

Post a Comment