Girl on a Bicycle (2013)

Movies are sometimes referred to as vehicles — which explains the titles for Strangers on a Train (1951), Wagon Train (1957), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), Ship of Fools (1965), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968), The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970), Chariots of Fire (1981), Speed Racer (2008), The Girl on the Train (2016), and The Bikeriders (2023). Of course, we can’t forget Girl on a Bicycle (2013). Also known as Liebe und andere Turbulenzen and Love and Other Turbulence, this German film follows Paolo (Vincenzo Amato), an Italian bus driver who shuttles tourists around in Paris. He wants to propose to his true love Greta (Nora Tschirner), a German stewardess. But when a young French babe named Cécile (Louise Monot) pulls up beside his bus on a bicycle, Paolo thinks she’s his true love too. With some poor advice from his best bud Derek (Paddy Considine), the lovelorn Italian soon finds himself with a German fiancée, a French wife and two Australian children! It’s a good thing this pic is a romantic comedy — otherwise it’d be a real tragedy. It’s also a good thing that this skinternational flick offers some flesh flashing. In one scene, Mr. Amato flaunts his hairy chest and bare back while having sex in the sack. If that’s not hot enough, the swarthy stud steams up the screen when he gets out of bed and reveals his rump. We’d love to see Vincenzo back that bus up!