The 4th Tenor (2002)

The 4th Tenor: Directed by Harry Basil. With Rodney Dangerfield, Anita De Simone, Annabelle Gurwitch, Charles Fleischer. A restaurant owner falls in love with an opera singer and, desperate to impress her, travels to Italy to learn how to sing.

“Do you find Rodney Dangerfield amusing? Would you like to see an entertaining Dangerfield film? Then avoid THE 4TH TENOR. It is a pitiful vanity project where Rodney generally neglects his strengths and wallows in sickening bathos.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs a prosperous Italian restaurant owner named Lupo, Dangerfield falls in love with a young luscious singer Gina (Annabelle Gurwitch). She doesnu0026#39;t return his affections, especially since Lupo canu0026#39;t sing opera. So he goes to Italy to take opera lessons. There, he meets a sweet local girl named Rosa (Anita De Simone) and learns the secret of great singing. Will Lupo find true love? Who really cares?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePart of the problem with THE 4TH TENOR is that Dangerfield is far less interested in generating laughs than in endearing himself to his audience. Rarely does he spew his customary one-liners. Instead he spends an awful lot of time acting lovelorn and wistful. But his strivings for sentimentality are so humorless and effortful, he becomes embarrassingly cloying. Even more disturbing is the concept of the geriatric, physically homely Dangerfield romancing women young enough to be his granddaughters. Part of the appeal in Dangerfieldu0026#39;s stand-up act was that he acknowledged he was ugly and therefore unsuccessful with women. If he wanted to be a romantic lead in his dotage, why couldnu0026#39;t Rodney pursue women his own age?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe pedestrian supporting cast cannot enliven the dreary material. They are the type of bland performers youu0026#39;d expect in a film deemed too poor for theatrical release. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTHE 4TH TENOR is truly a morbid experience. One watches an embalmed looking man who, in attempting to touch our hearts, dies in the course of his performance, a once bright star whose career has been dying. If this is the best Rodney can offer, itu0026#39;s time for him to retire.”