Dramma della Gelosia

Scola's satire on screaming, gesticulating, Italian romantic dramas inevitably and unfortunately falls into the trap of indulging in the same overheated histrionics that it attacks. But, as it tells its melodramatic story of a beautiful florist torn between her two jealous lovers - a pizza-cook and a bricklayer - it still manages to be intelligently entertaining, with its eclectic humour (parody, social satire, and a nice line in cool, throwaway dialogue counterbalancing the boiling emotions) and polished performances.