Brit comics Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon scored a surprise hit with their documentary-style comedy about touring northern English restaurants, so naturally, there must be a sequel, and naturally, it must go bigger. Italy should do nicely: the food, the wine, the ancient architecture, and oh mercy, the coastal views. But about two-thirds of the way through, someone notes that some people think La Dolce Vita is a celebration of Italian jet-set living, when actually, it's a scathing criticism of its ultimate emptiness. (There's good use of movies as discussion-fodder throughout: Roman Holiday, Journey to Italy, even Notting Hill.) And by the time Coogan is addressing Brydon as Yorick in a skull-filled catacomb outside Naples, the film's true subject has been made as crystal clear as the case surrounding a lava-crusted corpse in old Pompeii. The occasional dated pop-culture reference, the extramarital fling, the fumbling chats with teenage progeny, the musings on career legacy — if it weren't for all the jokes, you might be tempted to shed a tear. (2014) — Matthew Lickona
This movie is not currently in theaters.