A flaw that I feared before watching this movie was stereotypes about love, like men playing tricks on women to conquer them or betrayals with best friends. As a matter of fact the movie is divided into various parts, each one describing a stage of love: falling in love, crisis, betrayal and abandon. The different mini-stories are tied with each other by characters who are somehow related and the end of the movie connects with the beginning as an ideal circle. Despite the same old stories about relationships and developments of love stories, this movie has anyway some good aspects. For example, each actor plays his own repertoire, displaying their qualities in what they do best and for what they're known for. The best sketches, in my opinion,are made by Goffredo, played by Carlo Verdone, and Marco, played by Sergio Rubini, who offer the sense of humor shown in their own movies.

I really enjoyed the first novel. Jasmine Trinca is absolutely sexy and smart there. Although, I would not find Tomasa a perfect match to her, he did played very well. I am surprised that this movie has not received much of attention of critics and media. I am big fan of Jasmine after this movie. She is the best! Next novels were not so interesting for me, although I did find amusing one scene about pregnancy and the way everybody watched mother delivering a baby in a hospital.I would recommend watching Manuale Di Amore to everyone.

Another one of those surprising little masterpieces that one sees accidentally; a movie that you know little about but once seen leaves you with warmth and satisfaction having been taken on a journey we all know.Diane and I loved the film and left the theater with smiles on our faces and happy satisfaction animating our post-movie conversation. Maybe this pleasantness was a result of the writer's/director's choice of vignettes that ended the movie-it was the happiest, most satisfying of the four stories that composed the film.The script was subtly formed so that the stories have a soft connection between them and the final story felt the most satisfying to me. These four faces of love are examined softly-no major drama here-just a quiet look at the most obvious faces that present to us of this feeling called love.It is easy to see why this film won 11 Italian Oscars because the acting is acting at the point where the viewer is unaware that the people are acting the story. These theme variations are so well crafted that the viewer is left feeling that he/she is an emotional voyeur in that they are present during these stages of love.Do make an effort to see the film-it is worth your time and effort to do so.

Considering that Italian comedy is kind of limited to 2 or 3 movies during the Christmas holidays,and that some of them are quite good (the ones with Leonardo Pieraccioni and Aldo,Giovanni & Giacomo)and some aren't (the Boldi & De Sica-movies),Manuale d'Amore was a bit of a surprise: released in March 2005,with a quite unknown director(Giovanni Veronesi,better known as a screenwriter,who was also behind Che Ne Sarà di Noi),a famous cast although only two actors were professional comedians (Carlo Verdone and Luciana Littizzetto),and a 4 episode-plot,reminiscent of classic Italian comedies,as well as Verdone's early films.The story is simple but interesting,as it shows 4 different phases of love: 1.Tommaso (Silvio Muccino) falls desperately in love with Giulia (Jasmine Trinca)and spends the rest of the episode trying to get her; 2.Marco (Sergio Rubini) and Barbara (Margherita Buy) are a married couple in the middle of a crisis,and the whole situation is made funnier by the fact that the two actors were married in real life; 3.Ornella (Luciana Littizzetto) finds out that her husband is unfaithful and swears revenge; 4.Goffredo (Carlo Verdone)is suddenly left by his wife and tries to go on with his life,which won't be easy.Veronesi tells the story in a very classic way (there are even characters commenting the events straight to camera),without using too much bad language (typical of the mediocre Christmas comedies)or any scenes of graphic nudity.The cast is excellent: Muccino is one step closer to the stardom he deserves,Trinca,Buy and Rubini should do more comedies,while Littizzetto should do more movies. The real surprise,however,is Verdone,whose mature portrayal of an abandoned husband is miles away from his early,sketch-originated characters.His episode is a perfect mix of comedy and drama,and he deserved every bit of the David di Donatello he won for his performance(Best Actor in a Supporting Role).So,if you want to watch a good Italian comedy,Manuale d'Amore is recommended.