Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

bkoganbing Macaroni casts Jack Lemmon as an American businessman on a trip to Naples, his first since World War II when he traveled on a group rate and probably landed at Salerno. The Neapolitan women were most grateful to the Americans for liberation, most grateful indeed.Over 40 years go by and Lemmon now a successful businessman is on business in Naples and he's greeted in his hotel room by an old friend he doesn't recognize. Marcello Mastroianni is at first dismissed when Lemmon doesn't recognize him, but the picture he leaves of Lemmon and his sister does the trick.With some trepidation Lemmon seeks out Mastroianni's family and finds the sister now a matronly grandmother. Naturally he was expecting some unknown offspring, but her's can all be attributed to the husband she later married. Mastroianni is a dreamer and a dramatist of sorts. He's involved with what we would in America call a stock company as he writes and directs and stars in little dramas of his own. In one we see him as an Italian version of Snidely Whiplash. And he's created a whole drama around Lemmon as he wrote letters in Lemmon's name recounting a life that some pulp fiction hero would have envied. You can imagine Lemmon's reaction when he learns of his other life.Pretty soon Lemmon is sucked into the family and as things aren't going well in his personal life in America, he's soon involved with the whole family. The end however is bitter sweet.Macaroni is essentially a two person film with no real flushing out of any of the other characters played by actors and actresses unknown to American audiences. Lemmon and Mastroianni are good together though nothing like Lemmon and Matthau, but who was?It's an easy to take film goes better with a glass of red wine.

happipuppi13 I recently came across a copy of this film on a very old VHS/rental copy,which I bought at Goodwill. #1.99. It's age of course made it jumpy in some scenes but otherwise it looked picture perfect in terms of color. The movie itself is a wonderful discovery and like most films I'd never heard of,it turned out to be totally worth the time invested to watch it. The set up is simple but the idea of a man consoling his sister for 40 years in getting over the departure of her WW 2 romance is priceless.Lemmon's character,due to the exaggerated letters written with his name signed to them,has become a legendary figure in Naples. So upon his return visit he's astounded how everyone seems to know him,despite never meeting him,before. The overall story is a series of what seem like unrelated events but they seem to fit the story well. Also,upon first viewing it seems like this is a lost 1970s Jack Lemmon movie but was made in 1985 actually. The old look of Naples may be the cause of that because i searched the box looking for the date of release. Overall,I found it not wildly funny but funny in a more dry humored, offbeat and even surreal sense. Surreal because I doubt any of the odder things that happen here could happen for real. Which is the key ingredient in making this enjoyable,as well as it's two big name stars.10 out of 10! Voila! (END)

stannotuttibene Pasta, as the staple food of all Italian households, serves as the symbol of that which sustains us physically. And life long relationships is what defines each and every one of us. In this respect, watching Mastroianni as Antonio and Lemmon as Robert is like watching two master painters at work creating a human landscape spanning decades.In Antonio, Mastroianni reveals a man of integrity, caring, love and a sense of what makes us all human. Juxtaposed in Robert, Lemmon initially shows us a tired, bitter and disconnected man who no longer sees the real beauty in life. One cannot find two more opposite men at their respective stages in life. But it is here that the audience enters into their world or re-discovery.As always, Jack Lemmon inhabits the soul of his character (Robert) while portraying the angst felt by a man in deep internal turmoil. But being the great actor Lemmon always displayed, he does not leave us with this one dimensional view of Robert. Rather Lemmon takes us, as the film progresses, on a journey into his re-discovery of a time in his life when happiness was real, taken for granted and lost. And in that realization, Lemmon gives us the real bitterness of his character. Having once loved Antonio's sister during his days in the Army while stationed in Italy, Robert knew, perhaps for the only time in his life, real joy and kinship with others.Mastroianni gives a masterful performance of a dedicated bank employee who while he is not rich monetarily is rich in the knowledge of the love and respect he enjoys from family and friends. When Robert returns to Italy on a business trip in the present day, Antonio becomes overjoyed with the thought of rekindling the friendship he once shared with Robert. Mastroianni plays, with youthful enthusiasm, his excitement in seeing his 'old friend' Robert again. Antonio, in his simple way, has never lost sight of the true wealth of life. It is in this simplicity that Robert finds, at first, exasperation and then regret.But watching these two masters of cinema go to work with their characters is liking watching a sculptor taking a lump of stone and turning it into a recognizable form. Lemmon and Mastroianni take the basis of their characters and give a master class in blending the two diverse characters. It is in this blending that both Antonio and Robert learn the real lesson in life - people's lives may change but their core does not. In the end, Antonio is aided by Robert who understands the importance of taking swift action to save Antonio's son who has gotten involved with some unsavory characters. Antonio comes to realize that his friend never stopped caring for him, he was just side tracked by his life in America. For Robert, he has once again felt that exhilaration that we can all know if we allow ourselves. And that is the exhilaration of unconditional, ever present love by friends and family which is the basis of all human relationships.The final scene of the film is very fitting as we see Robert and Antonio's family sitting at the family dinner table being served pasta. The two staples of life are joined here just as Robert and Antonio were once again.

Elgroovio Often referred to as a film which "nearly makes it" this somewhat cynical comedy is not as bad as everyone says it is in my opinion. Its two main actors, Jack Lemmon and Marcello Mastroiani, make a great pair, better (I think) than the pairing of Lemmon and Walter Matthau. It's quite a sweet little film really with a nice ending. Sometimes it is very depressingly funny, and sometimes it's just sad. The general idea behind the film is the idea of, in old age, going back to a happier past. It's not a gem, but it deserves at least some credit. But it is worth seeing if you get the chance. If you find you liked Mastroiani's performance, then I recommend that you see the Italian film "I Soliti Ignoti". Enjoy!