by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
Hollywood has a reputation of being full of left-wing folks who treat religion and Christianity as a joke or a plot point. But in the last few years Angel Studios has had an incredible emergence into the box office scene. Their movies are largely very cheap to produce, and they stream on Angel’s streaming service quickly. Most impressive of their slate, The Sound of Freedom made over $250 million in 2023. Identifying the Christian moviegoer as a strong market, there is potential for Angel. So, it makes sense that their next big swing would be a star-driven vehicle like Solo Mio with recognizable names like Kevin James, Alyson Hannigan, Kim Coates, and even Christian TV’s darling Johnathan Roumie.
Elementary school Art teacher Matt (James) was left at the altar during his destination wedding in Italy. Opting to enjoy the already paid for honeymoon, Matt makes friends with some fellow travelers, Neil (Roumie), Julian (Coates), and Meghan (Hannigan). Pushing himself to try and have a good time, Matt begins to connect with local coffee shop owner Gia (Nicole Grimaudo). But he can’t move on from his fiancé without understanding why she left.
This cast has some established comedic talent, and the trailer led me to believe it would be more of an “anti-rom/but-still-com.” There are even some moments that got a chuckle out of me. Coates and Hannigan, in particular, make the best of their screen time. They have the right energy as a couple who have gotten married three times after multiple separations. As the lead, James plays more of the straight man but he gets a few eccentric moments here or there. Roumie has shown off his comedic touch before in The Chosen, so he fits in perfectly with this cast.
But the drama and romance parts of this gets depressing and slows down the fun train. Getting your heart broken is not an easy story, but keeping the story moving is important. Long scenes with James sulking in his hotel room or riding sadly down the street on a tandem bike do not keep the audience enticed. When things start to get moving with Gia, the romance feels very Hallmark channel. They felt like two people who just became attracted to each other out of nowhere, with little reason.
Unlike a lot of Christian movies, there is not an overt religious theme in Solo Mio. Feel how you want to about those themes, but usually they are about as subtle as a hand grenade. Overall, I find this to be an interesting decision and a welcome one. There are still good messages like “put yourself out there” or “trying again is hard but a good thing.” And allowing those messages to exist without being forced down the audience’s throat is also a good thing.
Despite Solo Mio dragging a bit in the dramatic part of the story, it has enough to warrant a viewing. However, this story does not feel interesting enough to justify a theater release nationwide. Angel’s streaming service feels like a better fit and big names like James and Hannigan could have helped them find subscribers. Getting more people to sign up could have been just as much of a win as getting a modest box office return. The next time an Angel Studios movie pops up at your local cineplex it could be a good time. But I will be holding off until it is available for streaming.
Rating: Just Okay
Solo Mio is currently playing in theaters
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