The 4th Tenor (2002)

A restaurant owner falls in love with an opera singer and, desperate to impress her, travels to Italy to learn how to sing.

Director:

Harry Basil

Writers:

Rodney Dangerfield, Harry Basil

Stars:

Rodney Dangerfield, Anita De Simone, Annabelle Gurwitch

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rodney Dangerfield	...	Lupo
Anita De Simone	...	Rosa
Annabelle Gurwitch	...	Gina
Charles Fleischer	...	Alphonse
Robert Davi	...	Ierra
Hamilton Camp	...	Papa
Elsa Raven	...	Mama
Jacob Urrutia	...	Mario
Richard Libertini	...	Vincenzo
Dom Irrera	...	Petey (as Dominick Irrera)
Patrick Cupo	...	Nunzio
Anney Giobbe	...	Francesca
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Marcello
Pierrino Mascarino	...	Roberto
Marty Belafsky	...	Johnny

Storyline

Eternal bachelor Lupo plays the comical presenter to the musical acts in his own Italian restaurant 'Serenade Café' in New York, but operatic singer Gina is not amused, she throws him out of her dressing room- the more she insults him, the crazier the old fool gets about her. To keep him off she insists her husband must be an opera singer, so he is easily duped by Ierra, who hits on with Gina himself and ships Lupo off to his Italian cahoot, musical teacher Marcello, for lessons- actually he is so bad that even the dog runs off, and after they bribe the local opera to give him a tiny part, the sound-tortured audience chases him for his life. He passes out but is found and taken in by a winegrowers family, which gives him confidence and a killer voice...

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Plot Keywords:

opera | restaurant | italian restaurant | italy | italian american | 

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Taglines:

Rodney gets no respect - until he changes his tune!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual humor

Details

Official Sites:

Offical Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 2004 (Finland)

Also Known As:

A negyedik tenor

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

WW & S Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opera song the mediocre female singer sings who ends up dating "Lupo" (Dangerfield) to further her career (since he owns a famous restaurant), is the same tune written for Citizen Kane in which the main character, buys his "trophy" girl an opera house.

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Goofs

When the bartender is talking to the server about how much Rodney is in love, his white shirt collar tucks itself under his black vest between shots.

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Quotes

Lupo: Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I won't sing anymore, I promise!

User Reviews

The music is the best part.

This is a very predictable romantic comedy. Although he is the main character, we see very little of the Rodney we have come to know and love. We see so little of Vincent Schiavelli, its hard to tell its him. The operatic ingenue-diva, early on, is certainly fetchingly sensual, but her portrayal of a devious wench is unconvincing by any measure. Generally, the acting by all parties is tepid.

There are a few beautiful landscapes of Italy in the movie; watch for them. Sadly, most of the action is shot on a soundstage.

The operatic elements are wonderful, but all too short. The fans of opera will play this soundtrack over and over, and use the DVD as a coaster for their iced latte.

Lose the DVD, save the Soundtrack.