Bossa Nova

(Columbia TriStar)

Amy Irving's Mary Ann is an American widow living in Brazil who falls for Pedro Paulo (the dashing Antonio Fagundes), a divorced Brazilian lawyer enrolled in her ESL class even though he's already fluent. And director Bruno Barreto surrounds the couple with a lively cast of characters: the soccer player who gets hot for Mary Ann when she teaches him how to swear in English; the know-it-all law intern who never turns off her Walkman; the sweet elderly tailor who listens to cloth before deciding what to make from it. But then he takes the road more traveled, stringing together mix-ups and miscommunications (all set to a bossa nova soundtrack) that are charming enough to amuse but too predictable to create any kind of climax. So we end up with just another romantic comedy.