This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
All His Wagers On One Horse
Plot Overview
Matt Taylor (Kevin James) teaches
fourth grade art. He dabbles in landscapes and includes a
loving couple in every one of his. He never puts himself out
there to meet women, though; the closest he comes is at the end of
his pencil or paint brush. He has pushed past 50 and is approaching 60.
By and by,
he bumps into a female teacher Heather (Julie Ann Emery) in the
hallway. They fall into familiarity and start fraternizing
within an easy comfort zone, like at a birthday party.
“She is the only woman I've ever loved,” he reveals.
Actually, she's the only woman he's ever been involved with. She
responds affirmatively to his in-class marriage proposal.
It is quite logical to believe that some kind of dating is necessary to the development of the judgment and pair interaction that is at the root of real objectivity in mate selection. Those who have dated more than one person have a chance to compare and to learn some of the usual behavior patterns of members of the opposite sex. They learn to distinguish between those whose personalities seem to promise a durable compatibility and those whose personalities obviously do not. Dating is an exploratory experience through which young people learn. In most circles today, therefore, it is considered desirable that young people “circulate” rather than “go steady” from the beginning, that some variety of dating experience is favorable to ultimate mate choice. The girl who is considered desirable as a date by a number of fellows is presumed to be the one most likely to be sought after in marriage. (223)
Regular guys
will have gone through any number of women who help them spend
their dough, before they settle on the right one, making memories
good and bad. Matt lacked that assistance, but his lifestyle
expenditures were small: art supplies and his idol's T–shirt,
so even on a teacher's salary, he was able to feather his nest for
marrying his one true love. This is called putting all his eggs in
one basket. He bought her a good sized ring and hired a wedding
planner—not cheap. He rented a veritable cathedral in Tuscany
for the ceremony, bought first class plane tickets, and made
reservations in a five star hotel for the honeymoon package.
He signed them up for the Two Become One tour, teachers
having lots of summer vacation time at any rate. He brings his
credit card. Instead of the bride (“I can't do this”)
walking down the aisle (“I'm sorry”) he receives a Dear
John letter (“I had to leave.”)
In two weeks' time, I went from girlfriend to fiancée to bride and then newlywed. The following week, I went from wife to grieving wife to widow.I had nowhere else to go, so I went on my honeymoon. Whenever anyone on the ship asked me how I was doing, I'd say, “I'm doing great. I'm on my honeymoon.” They'd ask me where my husband was. “He's dead,” I told them. (90)
Matt goes on his
honeymoon tour alone answering questions about his solo state with,
“We're on pause.” Right. He makes some friends:
Marcello (Alessandro Carbonara) & his therapist Donna
(Julee Cerda) who courted illegally and got married, and Julian
(Kim Coates) & Meghan (Alyson Hannigan) who've been divorced
twice and married three times to each other. They take him
to a rathskeller where he gets picked up by
“Birthday Girl” Claudia (Caterina Silva) with whom he paints
the town, doing it right. On the tour he meets “Coffee Girl”
Gia (Nicole Grimaudo) who joins him, and, by and by, love “just
happens.” Since his engagement is but “paused” that makes
her the other woman, which complicates matters.
Ideology
It's up for grabs how this romantic misadventure will turn out but that's nothing new. (Prov. 30:18-19) “There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.” The writer of this proverb juxtaposed three hard-to-track movements with romantic intrigues: a soaring eagle, a slithering snake, and a tossed-about ship. SM employs images from the same three venues to prepare the viewer for the unanticipated love machinations. “The way of an eagle in the air” corresponds to a dejected Matt receiving a text that his runaway bride is still in Tuscany as his plane is in phone-silent mode about to take off. He creates a scene trying to deboard.
“The way of a serpent upon a rock” corresponds to a high stakes horse race between Gia's and her slow courting ex-beau's horses—he couldn't make up his mind after ten years.
“The way of a ship in the midst of the sea” corresponds to Matt by himself rowing a two-person boat in the pond visible to all the couples on tour rowing together. He stood out, so attracting sympathy.
Production Values
“” was directed by Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane. It was written by Kevin James, John Kinnane and Patrick Kinnane. It stars Kevin James, Nicole Grimaudo and Kim Coates. James and Grimaudo performed well and worked well together. Coates as flamboyant Jules stole every scene he was in.
MPA rated it PG for some suggestive material, brief language, violence and smoking. Rome and Tuscany were beautiful backdrops. Runtime is 1 hour 36 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
My mom was engaged to some
fellow when my dad asked her out to a dance. Her friends having
dared her to accept, she did, then they fell in love, got married
and had me. They had a lifelong loving marriage, and no taint
of illegitimacy ever attached itself to yours truly. My dad's my
hero and role model. As a salesman I could handle all the
rejections from girls I asked out who had an existing fellow, but
they didn't all say no. Of course, I saw this movie from my own
perspective, as the audience generally does. The writers can make
it what they will, but it's already so twisted, another one at the
end would have to be clever indeed.
“Solo Mio” was a touching movie easy on the eyes and gentle on the ears. It including some operatic singing. We've all had a favorite teacher we'd like to see do well in the romance department. Here's to higher education.
Movie Ratings
Action Factor: Weak action scenes. Suitability for children: Suitable for children with guidance. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Good Date Movie. Suspense: A few suspenseful moments. Overall movie rating: Five stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture is taken from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Dermont, Amber. “Stella at the Winter Palace,” orig. appearing in Tin House. From Damage Control. Copyright © 2013 by Amber Dermont. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2013. First edition. Print.
Landis, Paul H. Making the Most of Marriage. New York: Meredith Publishing, 1965. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org