A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Blistering performances.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I found this move, seen on Turner Classic Movies, to be a very touching love story. I particularly liked the Olivia deHavilland as Meg Johnson, the mother of a beautiful young woman, named Clara with a slight mental impairment, played by Yvette Mimieux. On a trip to Italy with her mother, Clara is eyed by the young men she passes in the piazzas of Florence and Rome. Before long, she is pursued by Fabrizio Naccareli, a young Florentine, played by George Hamilton, who seems to have fallen in love with her at first sight. He is very enthusiastic and playful, a love match for Clara. At the same time, Fabrizio's father, Rosanno Brazzi, who is married, strikes up a friendship with Meg. It was apparent that while she wants the best for her daughter, Meg treats her disability as a social stigma. This seems to be in contrast with Fabrizio's Italian family, who have a more natural approach to Fabrizio, who is also somewhat immature, while totally charming. Some of the movie is very dated; for example, the way Olivia deHavilland lights a cigarette every time she encounters a moment of stress. The smoking theme becomes more pronounced with people offering each other cigarettes, not to mention Clara's father's high paying job in the tobacco industry. There is a bit of a running joke linking the Johnsons with actor Van Johnson, whose name is less familiar to a 21st century audience than it was in 1962. However, these telltale signs that date the movie also seem to be part of its appeal. In other respects, the movie is ahead of its time and seems to tell viewers to allow love to flower and grow. Meg found a change of heart on the trip. While reluctant to let go of her free-spirited daughter, she couldn't deny the love that Fabrizio and Clara shared. The movie throws a few twists in how the story plays out. As always, it is a credit that TCM brings movies out of the dusty corners of the past. They tell us something about the time while giving us unexpected entertainment.

During the 50s and early 60s, there were several movies about young to middle-aged women touring in Italy and falling in love with Italian men, and I often get these movies mixed up.---Katharine Hepburn being romanced in Venice by Rossano Brazzi in David Lean's Summertime (1955). ---Vivien Leigh being sought after by Warren Beatty in Tennessee Williams' The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961). ---Rosano Brazzi is part of the cast in Three Coins in the Fountain (1954). In THIS movie, Yvette Mimieux portrays a 27-year-old woman, Clara, who is brain damaged due to a childhood accident in which her pony had kicked her in the head. As a result of the accident, she has the emotional innocence of a 10-year-old girl with the body and hormones of an attractive 27-year-old woman. For years, Clara's mother and father, Meg and Noel Johnson (Olivia de Havilland and Barry Sullivan), have been struggling with each other as to what to do about her future. This struggle has only recently been exacerbated when Clara innocently had jumped into the arms of a mature male stranger her age. Since Noel Johnson is wealthy tobacco executive from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he and Meg have the money to delay the decision by arranging a Italian vacation of indeterminate duration for Clara and Meg, while hoping for a magical solution to their problems. While Meg and Clara are touring in Florence (and learning Italian), Clara is attracted to a young Italian man her age, Fabrizio Naccarelli (George Hamilton), as he is naturally attracted to her. With no noticeable problems, Fabrizio and Clara fall in love. Meg hopes against hope that this may give Clara a "normal life" while Noel—who briefly comes to Rome to confer with her—is not convinced. Nevertheless, Meg and Clara return to Florence, and Meg proceeds with wedding plans for Clara to marry Fabrizio with the help of his unsuspecting parents (played by Nancy Nevinson and Rosano Brazzi). After all, she IS willing to covert to Catholicism and they are quite happy with the upcoming marriage ...

I saw Light in the Piazza ten years ago and gave it 4/10 then and since saw IMDb's score and thought I should see it again. When it came on TCM I re-watched it, to see if time and maturity on my part would be more kind to it.Normally, Americans vacationing in either Paris or Italy are an instant turn-off for me (unless it's Roman Holiday). There is an added moral sinew to this one and so, despite the frothy music and never ending over-polite native service staff, there is an extra dimension to this travelogue. Some have cited that the sunny widescreen vistas are the only real reason to see Light in the Piazza and it is possible to switch off the dialogue and gently dream of such, if one so wishes.That extra muscle in the body of this film might seem a minor dilemma except to those afflicted, for whom it must be all consuming. Not being a parent, it could be difficult for me to sympathise with Olivia de Haviland's continual fussing over her brain damaged daughter, damage which only manifests itself in social situations as she has the mental age of a ten year old, yet is sexy, blonde and vivacious enough to turn the heads of young, virulent men. Including one Italian young man, Fabrizio, who is in actual fact American George Hamilton, turning up the accent to annoying levels and this miscasting effectively kills the film for me. Every time he pops up, which is often, I want to throw something at the screen because of this falsity. But, as the flirting couple get ever closer, the question as to whether to call off the holiday early, forbid Clara (the daughter) in seeing her beau or to simply let it run its course, whatever the outcome is dealt with gently but in some detail by de Haviland, her working, absent businessman husband and others. Not boringly done, but a definite sidetrack if one only wanted a vacant sights-show.To reveal which of the three courses that I outlined de Haviland chooses would necessitate a spoiler and so you'll have to see it for yourself. There are worse things to waste time on, but you may feel rather uneasy that you had.

This is an almost perfect movie. The glorious setting in Florence, romantic musical score and perfect actors make this a classic. It is not dated at all.The story is a fascinating study of the differences between American and Italian cultures and values. It is a very finely observed showing the subtle differences between the societies. And the best is it has a happy ending. Everyone got what they wanted.Olivia de Havilland is perfect as the worried mother trying to find happiness for her emotionally backward but very pretty daughter played with just the right charm and innocence by Yvette Mimieux. Brazzi is perfect as the suave Italian in law. Even George Hamilton does a surprisingly good job as an Italian beau.This is enjoyable and involving from start to finish. By the way, I saw the musical on Broadway - it didn't quite capture the nuances of this movie. A play on stage would have been better than the musical.