The joint Ambi Films-Samuel Goldwyn Company dramedy joint "In Search of Fellini" fills the gap regarding the lack of a woman in search of fulfillment travelogue this award films season. This film, which has a January 23 2018 DVD release date, also follows the tradition of Gidget and Benji (sadly) separately going to Rome in the '60s and the '70s respectively. For reasons that become apparent below, "Fellini" can be considered Rory Gilmore goes to Rome.
It is especially cool that Bart Simpson voice-actor Nancy Cartwright bases her "Fellini" screenplay on her own experience travelling to Italy in hope of meeting the titular filmmaker. One spoiler is that this Italian adventure of Cartwright does not involve discovering that Sideshow Bob is the government head of an Italian village.
The very strong "Gilmore Girls" vibe of "Fellini" relates to high-school outcast Claire Cunningham (Maria Bello of "A History of Violence" and "Coyote Ugly") being social enough to become a single teen-age mother. She raises her daughter Lucy in relative isolation that includes shielding this offspring from every unpleasant aspect of life to the extent that pets do not die but do commence grand adventures from which they write postcards.
Claire facing the challenge of concealing her own terminal disease from her daughter prompts nudging Lucy into the real world in terms of a job and/or college. The first step regarding this is an amusing coaching session for a job interview for employment as a production assistant for an independent film company; folks who read between the lines of the ad for that position have their cynical thoughts confirmed.
Lucy taking her first tentative steps in the world lead to discovering the universe of Fellini; this inspires this girl whose prior travels likely do not exceed 10 miles from her home to travel by herself to Rome to meet the filmmaker.
This misadventures of this quasi-accidental tourist begin with finding herself in fair Verona and her luggage ending up in another EU country. Meeting a cute and charming Italian man leads to the flower of Lucy having a fate that is comparable to that of her suitcases.
Lucy ultimately finding herself in Rome provides an especially strong sense that she is no longer in Kansas and that any remaining virtue that she possesses faces mortal danger. The Fellini style surrealism regarding this leg of the journey is even more spectacular then the parallels between his work and the apparently star-crossed (sans "wacky misunderstanding" suicides) of the Verona romance of Lucy.
This quest to meet the Wizard concludes on Lucy finding herself at the door of his castle. The drama regarding this relates to whether Fellini is in, if he will grant her an audience, and if Lucy begins a journey home with the benefit of the wisdom of the Great and Powerful one of the Italian film world.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Fellini" is encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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