Film Review

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Yes, Giorgio
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
MGM Home Entertainment 09/82 DVD/VHS Feature Film
PG

He is Giorgio Fini, a world-renowned Italian opera singer just arrived in Boston to begin a concert tour of the United States. She is Dr. Pamela Taylor, a throat specialist called to examine the tenor when he loses his voice. All the world loves a lover, especially if he is an opera superstar idolized by millions. Pamela decides to accept his offer of "a fling" in San Francisco.

Yes, Giorgio is the kind of romantic comedy which was so popular in the 1950s. The formula mixes beautiful scenery (a lovely Italian town and the beautiful North California wine country), luxurious living (Fini tells Pamela: "Life doesn't have to be life-sized," and for him it isn't) and an inspirational finale. Although Luciano Pavaroti doesn't cut a very fine figure as a lover, he is incredibly charismatic on stage, whether singing arias from Puccini's "Turandot" or Verdi's "Rigoletto." Kathryn Harrold's Pamela is not just a medical doctor. She proves to be a soul physician as well when she helps Fini overcome a long standing fear of performing at the Metropolitan Opera. Yes, Giorgio is a fairytale for grownups who long for the escapist entertainments of yesteryear.

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by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat