Costas Mandylor and Lauren Holly star in this romantic comedy. Mandylor plays Marco Poloni, an Italian baker at The Poloni Brothers bakery in The Bronx. All the local businesses in his area are closing down due to lack of money and it looks as though the bakery is going to go the same way. Marco then learns about a baking competition which, if he wins, would earn him the money to save the business, but he needs a partner to enter. He enlists the help of Grace Carpenter, an uptight Chef from Manhattan who dreams of opening her own restaurant, but can’t find the funding to do it. Despite appearing mismatched in personality, an attraction rapidly develops, but there are obstacles to overcome, including a former friend of Marco’s who is determined to sabotage their chances in the competition.
It’s hard for me to fairly review this film. It’s a rom-com, and probably not a particularly great one. Some of the acting is hammy, and the ending is predictable from about 20 minutes into the film. But despite this, it has a real charm, and I absolutely adored it! Costas Mandylor is as yummy as some of the gorgeous desserts he creates and Grace is endearing. The desserts themselves are mouthwatering and made me crave a gooey slice of cake!
It’s an undemanding film, but very enjoyable. I did root for the characters to get the ending they deserved, although as I said above, it’s fairly obvious what’s going to happen. So there are no real surprises here, but plenty of moments to make a viewer smile…this is a sweet (in more ways than one) film, and I would definitely watch it again.
Year of release: 2004
Director: Kevin Connor
Writer: Joseph Tropiano
Main cast: Costas Mandylor, Lauren Holly, Andrew Lauer, David Proval
Between the Pages 
Leave a Reply