by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
We all need a good romantic comedy with a little misunderstanding, happening in a lovely place, from time to time. It helps if your leads are recognizable names with some chemistry. Throw in some adorable and goofy side characters and it should be worth the price of admission. You, Me, & Tuscany hits all the aforementioned marks.
After a night together of almost romance, out-of-work chef/house sitter Anna (Halle Bailey) decides to follow new friend/maybe crush Mateo (Lorenzo de Moor) to Tuscany. Crashing in his home unannounced, she makes up a story to Mateo’s family about them being engaged, to avoid being arrested. Believing her due to Mateo’s many long absences, his family immediately takes Anna in, including his close cousin Michael (Regé-Jean Page). But a real romance begins brewing between Michael and Anna, and it gets all the more complicated when Mateo returns home. Will Mateo go along with her deception? Can Anna find a family if she continues lying? Does she and Michael have something real brewing?
Now normally I would say a romantic comedy is made or broken by the strength of its leads’ comic talents. But here the funniest people are not Bailey or Page. It’s the side characters with a few quirks or scenes. Mateo and Michael’s family have a lot of good timing together and fun personalities. My favorite was his sister-in-law Francesca (Stella Pecollo) who made lots of jokes about a romance with a plumber. But his mother (Isabella Ferrari) and Nona (Stefania Cassini) get moments too. There’s a groundskeeper Giuseppe (Emanuele Pacca) with some morning singing habits that remind me of Joey and Chandler’s singing neighbor in Friends. My favorite friend of the leads is cab driver Lorenzo (Marco Calvani), who is more than supportive and understanding of Anna’s predicament. Overall, these people are what keep the large scenes interesting, and the casting director deserves credit for getting some talented folks to round out the depth chart.
On the other hand, I won’t say I’m disappointed in the performances of our two leads. But both Bailey and Page feel a little out of their comfort zone. If you look at their previous work in The Little Mermaid, Bridgerton, or Black Bag, they are very capable performers with plenty of charm. So, this should not be taken as a snipe at their acting chops, but I don’t think either of them has the comedic chops to carry this film. That aforementioned charm keeps us from losing interest in our star-crossed lovers. But there’s a certain comedic tone that they just do not possess. It’s one of the small failures of this picture.
Here is what I can say about our leads: they had chemistry. Both know how to play lovestruck or flirty or falling for someone. Together their arc of figuring out their feelings for each other feels genuine and unforced. Each scene where the two of them are on screen together has that feeling so when you’re with them, you are in good hands.
One specific complaint that I have is the misuse of the lovely setting. If you’re going to include your scenic destination in the title of the movie, you should take advantage and point that camera out to the countryside. Instead, we have a mostly indoors movie. Yes there are a few nice establishing shots and at least one sunset. But it felt like a lot got left on the table. I would love to see some wider shots of the sweeping countryside that aren’t so zoomed in while our couple is talking or flirting.
But any rom com is only as good as the reveal that breaks the trust between lovers. Sadly, the revelation here fails to bring a justified heartbreak. Without spoiling it too much (as there’s more to it than just Anna lying about her and Mateo), the blame that befalls the little mermaid is not fair. While she should have been honest, she is not the only guilty party here. The resulting and expected shunning of Anna at the beginning of the third act does not make logical sense. I know it is the structure of this kind of story, and there needs to be tension before the ending, but it felt forced, and it cut off a lot of the good vibes the movie had going.
I feel like I am slowly talking myself out of this movie with each sentence, so I want to clarify that it was a good time at the cinema. Will it win an Oscar? It will not. Make over $100 million at the box office? Here’s hoping. But there are worse ways to spend your time. And I suppose there are worse things this could happen to you and me in Tuscany.
Rating: Liked It
You, Me & Tuscany is currently playing in theaters
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