A Little Romance (1979) review

Movie-mad Daniel (Thelonious Bernard) - who thinks he's imitating Bogart - "dates" Lauren (Diane Lane), an American living in Paris, and the two come up with a plan to sneak off to Venice and kiss under the Bridge of Sighs ... with some "assistance" from kooky codger Julius (Laurence Olivier).  It's essentially dime store Truffaut with gooey layers of sweetness dumped on top (even down to the last shot): Bernard is obnoxious, Olivier is either hamming it up or just trying to spice things up (it depends on your tolerance for over-acting) and Lane at age thirteen not only has an IQ of 167, but has all of Elizabeth Barrett Browning memorized and reads Heidegger for fun (wait until she gets to Hegel).  Despite its many flaws, it is a breezy viewing with some charming moments, like every scene with Broderick Crawford and film director George de Marco (David Dukes) - who could be a stand-in for either Friedkin or Bogdanovich - getting slammed in the gut.