When in Rome (PG-13)
Mike:
Mike: Tonight I am reviewing When in Rome
, a romantic comedy starring Kristen Bell as a woman who is magically being chased by more suitors than she knows what to do with.
What did I think?
This movie is the definition of Cute and I don’t really mean that in a good way. I came into this really wanting to like the movie, because I thought the trailer was amusing and I really like Kristen Bell. Unfortunately, the movie wasn’t nearly as funny as it should be. Especially with the cast they rounded up. On the romance front, it is also lacking. It’s almost as if this is a supposed to be a kids version of a romance. Which of course makes no sense, because what kid wants to sit through a romance?
This movie was the Steve Martin's Pink Panther of romantic comedies. It’s not as funny as it could be, relying way too much on slapstick and funny accents.
When I say cute, there are too many “awww” moments and moments where you smile. It seems like you should either be laughing or at least emotionally involved with the romance.
Beth (Bell) is a workaholic with no real time or desire for a love life. She has been hurt too many times before. On a 48 hour trip to Rome for her sister’s wedding she meets Nick (Josh Duhamel) and is once again disappointed in love. While escaping to the fabled “Fountain of Love”, Beth randomly pulls some wishing coins out of the fountain. Unbeknownst to her this causes the coin tossers to fall hopelessly in love with Beth.
When it comes to Kristen Bell, where should I start? Bell is like a Barbie doll with both smarts and the timing to actually be funny. It’s great to see her finally be the lead in a film. Even though she is the Sarah ofForgetting Sarah Marshall , I wouldn’t say she was the lead of that film. One of the things that keep this movie from being a real bust for me is that I enjoyed the fact that she is in pretty much every scene.
Beth’s crowd of suitors includes Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, and even Danny Devito. Arnet was hilarious as Gob on Arrested Development. Heder was Napoleon Dynamite, so need I say more? Dax Shepard made me laugh consistently on Punked. If you have ever watched just watched one episode of Taxi, then you know about Devito. These are funny guys, but none of them are as funny as they should be according to their track records. Apparently most of the laughs for these guys are supposed to come from what they are wearing. Actually, Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) who plays Nick’s buddy Puck is the funniest of the bunch.
I’ll admit I was glad to see both Don Johnson and Peggy Lipton as Beth’s parents, but it made me wonder why they were there. The same goes for Angelica Huston. They are pretty much wasted in what amounts to cameos.
Director Mark Steven Johnson was involved in the comic book movies Ghost Rider, Daredevil and Elektra. I would say that he should probably stick with that type of film, but if you have actually seen any of those, you know that’s not any better.
I give this a movie a 2.5 out of 5 overall and a 2 out of 5 for romantic comedy. I think I go as high as 2.5, purely because of my affection for Kristen Bell. This isn’t as bad as some romcoms I have seen, but it just doesn’t live up to its potential.
