Romantic comedy offers hope for even the most cyncial
‘When in Rome’ starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel
After the slate of bad romantic comedies I saw last year
– think
”
All About Steve
”
and
”
The Ugly Truth
”
– I was hoping the early offerings of 2010 would be a bit better
when I saw the first of the year a couple weeks ago. After
seeing
”
When in Rome,
”
I have to report it was an improvement over last year’s movies,
but still a bit of a mixed bag.
Romantic comedy offers hope for even the most cyncial
‘When in Rome’ starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel
After the slate of bad romantic comedies I saw last year – think “All About Steve” and “The Ugly Truth” – I was hoping the early offerings of 2010 would be a bit better when I saw the first of the year a couple weeks ago. After seeing “When in Rome,” I have to report it was an improvement over last year’s movies, but still a bit of a mixed bag.
The main reason I saw this movie is because it stars Kristen Bell, and I am a big fan of her work as the snarky teenage P.I. in “Veronica Mars,” which got cancelled shortly after the UPN-WB merger. But maybe that wasn’t reason enough to see it.
The movie was written by David Diamond and David Weissman, who also wrote “Old Dogs,” “Evolution,” and “The Family Man.” The movie marks director Mark Steven Johnson’s first foray into romance – his most recent films include comic book action films such as “Ghost Rider,” “Elektra” and “Daredevil.” The background of these guys may explain my biggest pet peeve with the movie – there were a whole bunch of clumsy sight gags in the movie just for cheap laughs that had nothing to do with the plot. It might be the oldest trick in the book for comedy writers, but sometimes it just seems like a lazy way to get laughs.
Aside from the clumsy sight gags, the movie was decent. It follows Beth (Kristen Bell,) an ambitious museum curator whose boyfriend broke up with her because she was spending too much time on her job. As with all single cynics, she says she’ll settle down with someone when she finds someone she loves more than her job.
She is focused entirely on a major exhibit she is working on at the Guggenheim, when her younger sister Joan (Alexis Dziena, who looks about 12 in the movie) announces that she has fallen in love with an Italian man and is getting married in Rome. Right in the middle of collecting pieces for an exhibit on pain, Beth has to head off to Italy for her sister’s sudden wedding.
Beth promises her daunting boss Celeste (Anjelica Huston) that she will be gone just 48 hours, and she will have an Internet connection with her the entire time. When she arrives, of course, her blackberry is sans a signal. She continues to stress about work while her father (played by an aging Don Johnson) tells her to be open to the magic of love like Joan. So when she sees the tall, tan and handsome Nick (Josh Duhamel,) an American who roomed with Joan’s husband Umberto (Luca Calvani) while in college, she decides to give him a shot. Plus, his blackberry seems to have a signal.
Beth’s shot at love is short lived, however, as she soon sees Nick kissing another woman. Distraught, and tipsy on champagne, she heads into the fountain of love that is outside the church where her sister has just been married. Legend has it that people can throw a coin into the fountain and make a wish – and most wish for love. In her fragile state of mind, she pulls some coins out of the fountain and carries them back with her to the United States.
With the coins, however, she brings back something she didn’t bargain for – she has several crazy suitors stalking her. First she encounters Gale (played by a ripped Dax Shepard, Bell’s real-life boyfriend) who is a narcissistic wannabe model. He comes on to Beth as she is trying to eat a quick lunch. Then there is Lance (Jon Heder), a magician who tries to win her heart with card tricks. And there is Antonio (Will Arnett), an artist who tries to win her love by painting nude murals of her around the city.
At first Beth thinks it is all a strange coincidence, but then her sister and Umberto tell her that when someone takes the coins out of the fountain the wisher’s desires are transferred to that person. Beth’s potential love interests are rounded out by a sausage maker and, of course, Nick.
In addition to her exploding love life, Beth also has an issue with her exhibit when her assistant ruins any chance of getting the piece they wanted as the focal point of the whole thing. She tries to keep her career from falling apart, while fighting off the guys and maybe falling in love with one of them as the rest of the movie goes on.
Melissa Flores can be reached at
mf*****@pi**********.com
. She writes a blog at http://melissa-movielines.blogspot.com , where readers can find thoughts on movies new to DVD such as “(500) Days of Summer” and “District 9,” as well as TV, food and life in general.
