Official Synopsis:
Nine countries in eighteen days! Impossible? Not for some hapless American tourists who, during a whirlwind trip to Europe, come up against a lot more than just the language barrier! Take, for instance, Samantha Perkins (Suzanne Pleshette) who embarks on the trip in order to find herself... and instead discovers love in the form of a charming British tour guide (Ian McShane). And Samantha isn't alone in her zaniness; she's joined by a bus full of comical personalities like the absent-minded Fergusons, the absent-wived Mr. Blakely and a host of others! Boasting superb direction, terrific characters and hilarious cameo appearances by Ben Gazzara, John Cassavetes, Joan Collins, Robert Vaughn and co-starring Mildred Natwick, Murray Hamilton, Michael Constantine, Norman Fell and Sandy Baron, this is one joyride you won't want to miss!
  
Our Take:
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium is one of those films that finds itself becoming exactly what it’s depicting and making fun of.  The film is about the absurdity of taking a packaged “see as much as you can” tour of Europe that makes you feel like you’re not even on vacation.  This film, in depicting said rushed whirlwind tour, is a rushed movie with a stunted whirlwind romance plot thrown in for good measure.  Like a tourist who, after this mad dash through Europe feels like they have not really seen Europe, I was left feeling that I had not really watched a movie once the credits rolled. 

The pace of the film (which is its fatal flaw) aside, one will certainly enjoy seeing the various sites of Europe far more than the characters in the film do, at least.  I’m of the mindset that one can take a camera and simply walk through some of the locales in this film such as Paris, Brussels, and Rome, and I would thoroughly enjoy watching the results.  That was certainly the case here as I derived the most joy when we got to take a break from the silly romance and forced tourist comedy and simply take in the sights.  For the sake of full disclosure, I used to live in Brussels when I was a child and have never been back.  So, the shots of the Manneken Pis and Grand Place caused a slew of memories to come rushing back.  Anyone else who has a longing for time spent abroad will certainly want to see this film.  I can objectively say that the shots of the Grand Place are the most beautiful in the film.

It is unfortunate that there are no special features contained on If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium, but as I always say, I’d rather have a barebones release of a previously unavailable film on DVD than no film at all.

Overall Picture:
Movie: C+

DVD:  C
 
- Matthew Orlando
Staff Writer