HOWEVER: That does not mean it's not a pretty film to look at and that if you don't expect it to be a masterpiece you won't find it hilarious. It is both terrible romance novel and mystery novel with a sprinkling of action.
It begins in Paris, with a seriously incompetent team of French surveillance officers watching a glamorous-looking Elise (Angelina Jolie). She receives a package and we learn that the international police are all after a man linked to this woman, and are certain that this letter is from him. We hear the letter read in Angelina's voice, as she reads it in her head. She burns the letter, having been told to get a train to Venice.
She meets an American tourist (in the Standard carriage, no less) who is a Maths teacher from Wisconsin. Not at all her type, when you compare him to the mysterious A.P. Anyway, she's been instructed to make those surveilling her to think that Frank (The tourist, Johnny Depp) is A.P, though the metropolitan police got the wiser of that. The gangster's men after A.P however totally bought it, and caused trouble, making poor Frank's visit to Venice unforgettable.
As I said, the soundtrack was dodgy -> it was over the top, kinda retro but also in some scenes inappropriate. The scripting was soooo corny. It was almost embarrassing, as they flirted, didn't flirt - even the threats were iffy.
The cast was fully of pretty: Rufus Sewell (minor character, technically), Depp, Jolie, Paul Bettany for a bit of comic relief. Well, in the sense that he was always one step behind. And Venice is of course beautiful at that time of year. And I wanted Angelina Jolie's ball gown. <3333
The plot was pretty basic, with what should have been an easy to spot twist. Perhaps I was waiting for some big emotional show down to see it coming before it actually did. I don't know. Perhaps I thought a little higher about it as I was watching than I should have. But it felt almost nonsensical or just too random. Particularly Rufus Sewell's part in the film. I feel almost that since he was in Venice for that t.v. show he had over Christmas, they decided to slip him in, since he was shooting there anyway, and hey, it's one more pretty character.
Anyway, it's certainly a 3 star film maximum, and yeah, it's a pretty naff film, and you can tell all the way through how insanely stupid it is, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it with a like-minded friend.
