Elena is a woman of 35 who works for a publishing house. She is willingly single after a long-term, unsatisfying relationship with Marco, her ex-boyfriend. However, when she runs into Adriana, a seductive younger woman who offers passion and Ettore, a calm older man offering stability, she finds herself torn between them. Elena sees them both, pursuing true love. It's
based on the 2012 novel of the same name (
L'amore è imperfetto in Italian) by Francesca Muci.
Provides examples of:
- Age-Gap Romance: One of Elena's two Love Interests is Ettore, a man who's a decade at least older than her. The actors are eighteen years apart.
- Amicable Exes: Elena and Marco, the father of her daughter, are friendly with each other when they meet again. She's also still close with her ex-lover Adriana once they break up.
- Babies Ever After: Part of Elena's happy ending with Ettore involves her being pregnant with their baby.
- Bisexual Love Triangle: Elena is torn between exciting Adriana who offers passion and stable Ettore, who'd provide more security. She eventually chooses Ettore.
- Closet Gay: Elena learns her boyfriend Marco has been cheating with a man while he's seeing her.
- Closet Key: Adriana is the first woman who Elena had ever been attracted to. It turns out that it's mutual, and Elena is her first as well.
- Disappeared Dad: Ettore tells Elena that he has three children who live with their mother, his ex-wife, in Paris. He hasn't seen them since they divorced and they have another father (presumably their mother's next husband) who's more present. He later also has a baby with Elena, indicating he'll do better as a father in this case.
- Erotic Dream: Elena, after learning her boyfriend Marco has been cheating with a man, fantasizes about having sex with them both in succession.
- Fiery Redhead: Adriana is a passionate redhead with a quick temper.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Elena gets accidentally pregnant and has no desire for motherhood. Her boyfriend Marco, the father, pleads with her to have the baby. She does, and leaves their daughter Claudia with him after she's born.
- How We Got Here: The film opens in 2012 at the time it was made, showing Elena's growing Bisexual Love Triangle between Ettore and Adriana. It often goes back eight years to 2004 however showing how her life reached that point.
- Law of Inverse Fertility: Shortly after expressing her lack of desire for motherhood (her boyfriend wants a child) Elena gets accidentally pregnant.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Elena is a feminine bisexual with long hair who likes to wear stylish blouses.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places:
- Elena impulsively performs fellatio on Ettore while in a field where they'd gone for a picnic.
- Later, she first has sex while with Adriana as the latter is sitting on her kitchen's counter.
- Elena and Ettore later have sex while on a public (but secluded) balcony as they watch a band play below them.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Elena is an elegant feminine bisexual. Adriana, who is bisexual as well, has a mild goth style and tomboy air. They become lovers.
- Missing Mom: Elena left her daughter Claudia with Marco, Claudia's father, as she had no desire for motherhood. She breaks down in tears while confessing it to Ettore (who's an absent father to his own children) and later does meet her daughter, who's eight by then. It's indicated they forge a relationship. This seems to inspire her having a baby by Ettore too.
- Mr. Fanservice: Marco is a very handsome, muscular man who's often in shirtless scenes and does a striptease for Elena. He claims initially to be a male model, which is convincing.
- Ms. Fanservice: Elena is very attractive, and shown in her underwear then naked while she's showering. Adriana, her lover, is also pretty. Both are shown topless while having sex (with each other or men).
- Queer Romance: A major part of the plot is Elena's relationship with Adriana, as it's a Bisexual Love Triangle.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Elena's young daughter Claudia looks very much like her, with the same dark brown hair and a similar smile.
- Surprise Pregnancy: Elena learns she's unexpectedly pregnant by Marco right after finding out he's been cheating with a man plus she told him she's not ready to be a mother. Needless to say, she's unhappy.
- You Can Leave Your Hat On: Marco does an impromptu striptease for Elena. She's impressed by seeing his size, and laughs because her friend Roberta told her she'd need a magnifying glass to see it.
