Boccaccio: A historical romp that's mostly just confused

Honestly, you probably only want to watch Boccaccio if you have a very specific craving for old-world costume dramas where everyone talks way too much and achieves very little. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it definitely isn't trying to change your life.

The whole premise of a guy pretending to be a famous author just to flirt with women is... well, it’s a bit creepy, isn't it? But the movie treats it like a harmless bit of fun. You’ll probably find the pacing a bit sluggish if you’re used to anything made in the last fifty years. It sort of drifts along like a boat with no rudder.

There's this one scene where the count is trying to keep his lie going, and the way he stammers—it feels like the actor just forgot his line and decided to turn it into a character trait. I kind of liked that, actually. It felt real.

The sets look like they were built five minutes before the cameras rolled, which gives everything a strange, theater-like quality. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Kirmes in Hollywood, though with significantly less dancing and way more powdered wigs.

Is it a masterpiece? Absolutely not. It’s a movie that exists because it was scheduled to exist. There’s no big message here, just a lot of people in puffy sleeves running through hallways.

Some random notes from my notepad:

• The lighting in the garden scene is surprisingly moody for such a silly movie.
• The real Boccaccio's wife is basically the only person with a brain in this whole town.
• I think one of the background extras is just standing there reading a newspaper in the middle of a medieval street. Probably not, but it looks like it!
• The dialogue is so fast sometimes that I swear they skipped half the words.

If you liked the vibe of Gardez le sourire, you might find this charming enough. If you’re looking for something with actual stakes, you’re going to be bored to tears. It's not great, but it’s not trying to be. It just is. 🤷‍♂️