Although Under The Tuscan Sun is the very epitome of the term chick flick, it is a film as charming and romantic as the city it is set in. And, for the guys, we have the beautiful and expressive Diane Lane cast in the lead role as a woman struggling to move forward in life after her cheating husband turns it on its ear.

       Loosely based on the book by Frances Mayes, Under The Tuscan Sun is a slightly cynical, but always hopeful, examination of love: having it, losing it, moving forward, and finding it again. It is a film about taking risks, even if the result may be a broken heart, finding within ourselves the child-like innocence to believe that true and everlasting love exists, and mustering up the courage to keep looking for it.

       Diane Lane is Frances, a newly divorced writer who travels to Tuscany for a bit of R&R. While there, she decides on an impulse to purchase a run-down house in Cortona to avoid returning to her desolate life in San Francisco. Italy is a new and exciting start, and the undertaking of major renovations to the house serves as a wonderful metaphor for her life as she seeks to rebuild herself. She reshapes her life with the help of the local people who come into it: the Polish contractors hired to restore the home, the aging Fellini protégé who encourages Frances to stop wallowing in her misery, the real estate agent who befriends her, the pregnant best friend who arrives unexpectedly from America after her lesbian lover dumps her – all play a pivotal role in helping Frances move her life in a more positive direction.

       Although the story is fairly formulaic and predictable, it is also engaging and likeable. It is a film that most can easily identify with and, despite a handful of Lifetime movie moments, it remains pretty firmly planted on the lighthearted end of the emotional scale.

       What really made the film enjoyable to me were the performances. Lane is superb in her role and convincingly wavers between strength and vulnerability. Sandra Oh has a gift for subtle humor and provides much needed comic relief near the end of the film when the proceedings threaten to become a bit maudlin. The supporting cast, many of them Italian, are wonderful, lending an air of authenticity to the film and drawing us in to the culture of Italy.

       The recently released DVD is light on bonus content. ‘Tuscany 101' is a standard-issue making-of featurette featuring behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. Also included is commentary from director Audrey Wells (who also wrote the screenplay) and 3 deleted scenes that are completely inconsequential. The film itself is offered in 1.85:1 widescreen and 5.1 Dolby Digital with English, Spanish, or French subtitles.

Under The Tuscan Sun is a lushly filmed, finely acted feature that fails to shine as brightly as it could have but is warm enough to penetrate your heart and leave you basking in its glow.