It’s no joke: Heath Ledger–in the new movie “Casanova,” playing the absolute antithesis of his role in Brokeback Mountain–actually utters the line, “What would Casanova do?” in an attempt to give an aspiring lover-boy advice and inspiration about how to get women into bed. Whether the allusion to WWJD is intentional or not is unclear, but I laughed out loud in the theater when Ledger delivered it.

Unlike Kris Rasmussen, my fellow blogger who reported going 0 for 2 in Christmas week movies (disliking both “Rumor Has It” and “Cheapter By the Dozen 2“), I had a bit more success. “Casanova” is a fun farce with a fantastic cast (Oliver Platt, Sienna Miller, Lena Olin, Jeremy Irons, and did I mention Heath Ledger?). Since legend has it that Casanova was quite the lady’s man of 18th-century Venice, and his name is known to us only by way of his fame as a seducer, you’d think the movie Casanova would be all about sex, sex, sex. But it’s not. Though there are certainly allusions to a good deal of sex, this movie is more about the romance that Kris complains is lacking in so many recently released movies. And a good deal of ridiculousness, swordfighting, and other fun things to watch on the big screen.

So if you’re looking for romance, Casanova gets an A in my book. (Getting to watch Heath Ledger on screen as a romantic lead for 105 minutes also gets an A as well.)