Rating: * * *
Verdict: Compendium of four episodes make for insubstantial but charming entertainment
This sequel to the 2005 anthology of cinematic short stories on the subject of love is more of the same: four slightly overlapping episodes explore different aspects of this uniquely human condition.
Nicola (Scamarcio), paralysed in a car accident, falls for his physiotherapist (Bellucci); Franco (Volo) and Manuela (a hilariously brittle Bobulova) seek fertility treatment; Filippo (Albanese) and Fosco (Rubini), a gay couple, decide to marry - no easy task in Italy; and Ernesto (the ubiquitous and wonderful Verdone), the middle-aged maitre d' in an expensive restaurant, has a steamy affair with a much younger Spanish kitchenhand Cecilia (Pataky).
With the exception of a short scene of nasty thuggery, Manual of Love 2 is a very enjoyable diversion, which cannily blends physical comedy (the best of it courtesy of Verdone and a rottweiler) and classically Mediterranean high-octane repartee.
Better still, it imparts its folksy wisdom gently and tenderly: Manuela learns that the chances of fertility, like love, can improve when you relax and let it happen and Albanese imbues with some pathos his gay character's hunger for the connections of family, even in the face of hostility from his partner's father.
The ending may be a bit syrupy but no matter: in cinematic terms this is an antipasto rather than a main course, but it's very fresh and tasty.
Peter Calder
Cast: Carlo Verdone, Monica Bellucci, Riccardo Scamarcio, Sergio Rubini, Antonio Albanese, Barbora Bobulova, Fabio Volo, Elsa Pataky
Director: Giovanni Veronesi
Running time: 122 mins
Rating: M (violence, offensive language, sex scenes) In Italian with English subtitles
Screening: Rialto
