The Fifth Wheel

Director: Giovanni Veronesi

Cast: Elio Germano, Alessandra Mastronardi, Ricky Memphis, Sergio Rubini, Alessandro Haber, Francesca Antonelli, Mautizio Battista

At a time when Italians are very much under the weather with serious economic woes, a bit of positive thinking, however improbable, doesn’t hurt at the box office. At least that seems to be the philosophy behind the well-designed rom com The Fifth Wheel, whose mark of distinction is that the story spans 46 years of recent Italian history. Starring Elio Germano as a humble, honest Everyman who moves from job to job as the country goes from bad to worse, the Fandango/Warner Bros Entertainment Italia production is facile at best and could have been funnier. But Giovanni Veronesi (director of the Manual of Love film series, the last one starring Robert De Niro) has a confident feeling for local audiences’ taste and they will probably flock obediently when WB releases in Italy next week. The film’s crowd-pleasing potential will be tested as opening night film at the Rome Film Festival.