Maria Grazia Cucinotta

Brooke Shields, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Pierfrancesco Favino co-headline the romantic comedy Our Italian Husband (Mariti in Affitto), directed by Ilaria Borrelli. When Vincenzo Scocozza (Favino), an Italian immigrant sculptor living and working in Manhattan, weds the expectant Charlene Taylor (Shields), it overcomplicates his life -- for he has tied the knot twice over. Unbeknownst to Charlene, he claims a spouse and two kids in the old country! Suddenly, first wife, Maria (Cucinotta), pops up in the Big Apple, with their sons in tow, letting her Italian temper erupt when she hears of wife number two -- and the schemer Vincenzo finds himself caught in the middle of a small marital war. Chevy Chase makes a guest appearance as Paul Parmesan, a Ron Popeil-like TV shopping magnate who only adds to everyone's confusion and misery by cooking up a delicious scheme against the two women. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A groom-to-be wanting to put his best foot forward finds that's not so simple in this updated screwball comedy. Isaac Adler (Timothy Hutton) is a straight-laced college professor who is invited to give a lecture in San Francisco on the day before his wedding. Adler accepts the invitation, certain he has plenty of time to get back home in time for the nuptials, but he makes the mistake of leaving his shoes out to be shined -- and only one of the shoes returns. Adler sets out to find his missing shoes, or obtain a new pair of dress shoes before he reaches the altar, but that proves to be a lot more complicated than he expected; along the way, he meets a lovely and free-spirited woman named Aurora (Maria Grazia Cucinotta) who offers to help him, but Aurora's "helpful" ideas include visiting several nightspots, getting tattoos, and eventually spending the night in jail. Is there any hope for Adler -- or his shoes? Just One Night also features Udo Kier and Seymour Cassel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

James Bond, the world's greatest secret agent, is sent once more into the breach in the name of Queen, Country, and a dry martini. In the 19th Bond adventure, 007 (Pierce Brosnan) must resolve a potentially deadly power struggle between two unstable nations, with control of the world's oil supply as the ultimate prize. Bond is assigned as bodyguard to Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of a petroleum magnate who was brutally murdered, and is trying to foil the fiendish plot of Renard (Robert Carlyle), a villain who was shot in the head with an unusual result: he cannot feel physical pain, an apparent failing that proves to be a considerable asset. Denise Richards appears as Dr. Christmas Jones, an expert on nuclear weapons, alongside Desmond Llewelyn as Q, Judi Dench as M, Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny, and John Cleese as R. Alternative rock band Garbage performs the theme song. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this sexy comedy, four modern couples try to sort through the hubub of their lives and make time for making love. The story's main couple, Dario and Maddalena are so busy with their children, managing finances (Dario's ex-wife demands a larger alimony payment) and their two very different jobs (he's a nightwatchman at a bedroom furniture showroom and she's a nurse) that they only see each other for short periods in the morning and evening. Then there is Sandro, the showroom's bookkeeper who tries to rekindle a relationship with his Russian ex-lover. Dario's young nephew Lorenzo is frustrated because he is too broke to rent a love nest for himself and lovely Luisa. Fabrizio and Margherita are actors who find that their tempestuous personal relationship is interfering with their rehearsals. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set in a non-descript Midwestern town during the 1950s, this fable chronicles the last days in the life of local Mafioso Don Antonio Barracano (Anthony Quinn). During preparations for his 75th birthday celebration, he muses upon his life. While he thinks, his wife Armida continues her campaign to keep her eldest son from entering the family business. Trouble brews for Don Antonio when he learns that his stubborn colleague Arturo is refusing to help out his own financially strapped, estranged son who is trying to do right by his pregnant girlfriend. Don Antonio tries to restore family harmony by intervening, but his plans backfire and a tragedy ensues. The plot is adapted from Eduardo de Filippo's drama Il Sindaco del Rione Sanita (1960). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Four roommates in their 30s hesitate to take the big plunge and take the final exams that would grant them their degrees. This episodic, Italian ensemble comedy explain each of their reasons. The recently divorced Leonardo is still in love with the beautiful sister of Rocco, who nurses a broken heart after his fiancee jilts him. Bruno is just hanging around waiting to inherit his wife's business. Pino dreams of becoming a comedian. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this remake of the 1983 Ardiente Paciencia by Antonio Skarmeta, the time and place have been changed to Italy in the 1950s, but the relationship between the Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda and Mario (Massimo Troisi), the postman who delivers his copious mail, is still the focus of attention. In this version of the story, scripted by a collective of Anna Pavignano, the director Michael Radford, Troisi himself, and a few others (based on Skarmeta's original story), Neruda is an aloof and slightly elitist figure who is seeking solitude on an island off the coast of Italy, taking a respite from political problems at home. Mario is a poet at heart and employs every measure he is capable of inventing to win his way into the affections and attention of the great author. As his efforts start to bear fruit and Neruda unbends and begins to share conversation and philosophy with Mario, the postman idolizes the poet all the more. Eventually, Neruda shares his leftist political philosophy as well -- and helps him win over the captivating Beatrice, the woman of Mario's dreams. When Neruda leaves, Mario enters into high gear as he prepares material for the next time he sees Neruda -- his ardor and patience, alluded to in the original title -- are essentially indestructible. (Massimo Troisi) was fated never to know that Il Postino would receive worldwide acclaim and be nominated for an Oscar for "Best Picture" in 1995 (the first foreign film nominated in that category since Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers 22 years earlier). Suffering from a heart ailment and unable to work more than an hour or two on the filming of Il Postino each day, he died in his sleep at the age of 41, the day after shooting ended on the film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide