The title of Gianni Do Gregorio’s new film was originally Astolfo. But after its festival run, the title changed to Never Too Late For Love. The jury’s out on whether or not that change is a good idea. The first act, though, seems more of a character study than one depicting romance. Di Gregorio stars as Astolfo. He’s a professor who has to move from Rome to a palace in suburban Abruzzo that his aristocratic family still owns. There, he finds a squatter, Oreste (Alberto Testone). He’s the first of the film’s few characters spicing up his new living situation.

The second kooky character in Di Gregorio’s film is Astolfo’s cousin Carlo (Alfonso Santagata) who asks him about his love life. This question turns into an invitation to a double date, where he meets a woman, Stefania (Stefania Sandrelli) with whom he starts a relationship. They do things that younger couples do, like go in the fields to make out. This relationship worries her children, thinking that Astolfo is one of those kinds of aristocrats. The kind of aristocrat with no money and thus, link themselves to women and live off them.

With films like Never Too Late For Love, Gianni Di Gregorio has made himself a reputation of making hangout films but with old Italians. The only other film I’ve seen of his is Mid-August Lunch, a female version of the subgenre he thrives on. It’s the kind of film where actors play off of each other even if they’re dealing with low stakes. Although, these stakes include some of the characters supporting Astolfo’s new relationship with Stefania. The thing is, is this kind of conflict enough to keep viewers glued to the screen? Sadly, maybe it’s not.

Serving as both co-writer and director, Di Gregorio also attempts to find humour with his new housemates and the crumbling palace in which they live. Some of the palace’s problems have easier fixes than others. One of the stove burners is too powerful, but a handyman can fix that as part of his keep. The gutters, however, are a different situation, because he shares it with one of his tenants, the local priest who’s also a gossip. Never juggles both the romantic plot and this one, and this latter one has more meat to it.

And because the characters here are retirees doesn’t mean that they don’t suffer heartbreak, but Never approaches that topic too lightly to take it seriously. If a movie is using that for comedy, they should at least push slightly further than they do here. One of the film’s saving graces is Sandrelli, who exudes the same youthful intelligence as she did in The Conformist. I just wished that there was more of her in this film. The film’s juggling act just makes it seem like it short changes the two plot arcs playing on screen.

Watch Never Too Late For Love on OVID.