(Elsa y Fred, 2005) A wee, twee tale of the dreams of lonely people about the age of John McCain but lacking great wealth and power, the Spanish “Elsa & Fred” should warm the cockles of any hater of cheap sentiment. Marcus Carnevale’s patronizing failed comedy about a pair of aged Madrilenos is as dispiriting as sitcom in its portrayal of a recent widower and a dotty widow who dreams of bathing in the fountain Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni splashed about in “La Dolce Vita.” Does she tease him, “You’re not afraid of dying. You’re afraid of living”? Yes, she does. Terminally condescending, “Elsa and Fred” makes you wonder, why is there no cure for the common cliché? 106m. (Ray Pride)
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