While Last Kiss may strike some as a calculated crowd-pleaser, it's cleverly calculated, perceptive and often quite funny -- and a bit darker than it may first appear.

More movies should be so funny and perceptive, with writing this sharp and acting this believable.

It's a frisky, funny roundelay starring Stefania Sandrelli, and it features enough shouting and arm-waving to power a windmill.

Think "Sex and the City" with men, only in Italian and with lots more hollering and hand gestures.

You get to know each person just well enough to compare them, allowing you to judge as you like; the film, nicely, refrains from moralizing.

Its portrait of the many ways we can complicate our romantic lives may have a few serious moments, but it's intended to go down easy, and that's what it does.

The vigorous, unsubtle acting provides consistent pleasure, once you stop expecting it to seem realistic.

Makes a good chick flick for guys who want to appear artsy by taking their date to a foreign language film. Just remember: front row...and don't forget the aspirin.

The message behind all of this is difficult to nail down. Mars and Venus? Adults who haven't grown up? The last fling syndrome? Doing what you want instead of doing what you must?

The director knows how to apply textural gloss, but his portrait of sex-as-war is strictly sitcom.