When in Rome: The Glass is Half Full

I wasn’t thrilled with having to see When in Rome in the theatre. It seemed like a nice, Friday night alone with a glass of wine rental, to me. Then again, it’s January and it’s slim pickens for decent flicks at the box office. That said, I have to admit – I enjoyed myself.

Beth, a career centered business woman, (Kristen Bell) is unlucky in love but claims to not believe in it, anyhow. She tells a friend that when she meets a man she likes more than her job THEN she’ll take the time to consider something serious. When her impulsive little sister gets engaged to an Italian man she barely knows, Beth finds herself in Rome for the wedding. The best man just happens to be the adorable, sensitive, and available  Nick (Josh Duhamel). They have a couple moments at the wedding, some funny and some romantic, but nothing materializes because Beth sees Nick kissing another woman. Feeling sorry for herself and tipsy from a bottle of champagne, Beth climbs into the ‘Fountain of Love’. This scene is one of my favorites, and Kristen Bell showcases fine comedic timing. She gives the statue in the fountain a good talking to, then proceeds to remove five coins lying on the bottom – saving the tossers from the heartbreaks love would surely bring them. What happens instead is that four crazy idiots – and one hottie – begin showing up in all the wrong places when she arrives back in New York.

First, what didn’t work. I want to start here, because I want to avoid leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth. The three pieces that absolutely don’t work are the four idiot would-be lovers, an odd cameo, and the ending. The four men whose coins she pulls out (with the exception of Nick, of course) are unbelievable characters. One is vain, another relentless, a third annoying, and the last (played by Danny DeVito) is both creepy and a little sad. The worst thing about it though, is when the writer attempts to give them stories other than the part they play in Beth’s life. They don’t need a story. We don’t need to know that one always wanted to be a painter, that one is grieving a divorce, and one is afraid to perform in public. Frankly, we don’t care – and it is stupid to try and force us to care eighty minutes into a ninety minute movie. I give the whole scene where she is getting rid of them a huge eye-roll (also, for bonus points: find the Wizard of Oz reference). Another odd reference is the magician character, one of the suitors. He is played by John Heder (of Napoleon Dynamite fame) and smack in the middle of the film Pedro (Efren Ramirez) shows up as his sidekick. It’s all very Twilight Zone, and frankly tossed me out of the story for at least an entire scene while I tried to figure out what was going on. Then, the ending. It drags out. It’s a romantic comedy, we all know how it’s going to end.  Beth and Nick are going to go through hardships – but come out of it together and in love on the other side. It was one of those *sigh*, they’re together. Wait…let’s try the same trick one more time and accomplish nothing but dragging the movie on another five minutes. Oh, thought of one more…they fall in love awfully fast, even for this type of flick.

That said, the positives. First, Kristen Bell is adorable, funny, and is built for romantic comedy money making fame. She and Josh Duhamal have nice chemistry (if their romance is a tad unbelievable), and he is pretty enough to make us root for him from the start. Seriously, the guy can rock a tuxedo. Third, the supporting cast playing Nick’s buddies (most notably Bobby Moynihan) are good for more than a couple of laughs. And last, though the characters are cliched, it’s nice to have a heroine that’s not into magic and fairytales – one who has succeeded through hard work and doesn’t have to fall in love to feel complete. If you like romantic comedies (and let’s face it, ladies…who among us doesn’t?) When in Rome won’t disappoint. You’ll laugh, root for the prospective couple, and walk out of the theatre with a smile.

The movie is PG-13, but it’s safe for kids. I went with a friend and her twelve year old daughter and nothing made me uncomfortable.