VARIETY.COM
Posted: Fri., Nov. 22, 2002, 1:00am PT
The 4th Tenor
By SCOTT FOUNDAS
Rodney sings! Again! Such might be the tagline for "The 4th Tenor," which finds the octogenarian actor-comedian putting his stamp on the musical comedy genre for the first time since the little-seen kidpic "Rover Dangerfield" in 1991. A slight, but somewhat charming return to form for its star, following the dismal "Meet Wally Sparks" and "My 5 Wives," this may be Dangerfield's first film aimed squarely at fans close to his own age. Opening in limited Gotham and L.A. engagements Nov. 22 en route to video, Dangerfield's least risque pic is gentle, sentimental and soft around the edges -- a film grandmothers might enjoy.
In a scenario based loosely on Dangerfield's own early experiences as a singing waiter, New York restaurateur Lupo (Dangerfield) falls head-over-heels for Gina (Annabelle Gurwitch), one of the singing waitresses in his Italian cafe. When Gina decrees that she can only love a man who can sing opera, the tone-deaf Lupo boards a plane for Italy to take singing lessons from sham voice coach Vincenzo (Richard Libertini). What Lupo doesn't realize is that Gina can't stand him -- voice or no voice -- and that he's merely being put out to pasture by Gina and the two-bit scam artist Ierra (Robert Davi).
After nearly being run out of Italy following a disastrous opera debut, Lupo is rescued by the beautiful Rosa (real-life opera star Anita De Simone in her film debut) and her rural, wine-making family. Lo and behold, Rosa's family has a powerful secret: Their special "family wine" can transform the vocal cords of even the most hopeless non-singer into a pitch-perfect tenor of Pavarotti caliber. Confident that Gina will now love him, Lupo returns to America, prepared to take the opera world by storm.
Enough complications follow to stuff several Richard Gere/Julia Roberts movies, with Lupo realizing that his true love is Rosa at the exact moment that she begins to walk down the aisle to marry another man (Vincent Schiavelli). Despite an irritatingly relaxed pace and tiresome contrivances, "The 4th Tenor" -- unlike pics such as "Runaway Bride" -- is saved by Dangerfield's patented brand of self-effacing humor that puts everything across with a wink and a smile.
Viewers are not expected to take any of this seriously, least of all the May-September romance between Lupo and Rosa. (If only Woody Allen had the good sense to make a film in which Schiavelli were his romantic rival.) And Dangerfield, like an old vaudeville pro trotting out a well-worn routine, is enjoyable to watch. His films, after all, have rarely been more than thin window-dressing hung on top of his standup shtick.
Directed (and co-written) by Harry Basil (who has worked in various capacities on several prior Dangerfield pics), "The 4th Tenor" has a look that's as old-fashioned as Dangerfield's material, with a little-disguised Universal Studios backlot standing in for the Gotham and Rome street scenes and the vineyards of Santa Ynez doubling for the Italian countryside.
Camera (FotoKem color), Ken Blakey; editor, Tony Lombardo; music, Christopher Lennertz; music supervisor, Dawn Soler; production designer, Jacqui Masson; art director, Mark A. Thomason; set decorator, Geoffrey Maynard; costume designer, Nicole Shroud; sound (Dolby Digital), Mike Hall; casting, Fenton/Cowitt Casting. Reviewed on videocassette, L.A., Nov. 19, 2002. Running time: 97 MIN.
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