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When it comes to January movies, I’m still a cautious optimist. Though I know full well that a January release date does not bode well for a film (or for my enjoyment thereof), I still hold on to just the tiniest bit of hope that a movie will surprise me—that someone simply made a scheduling mistake, accidentally scheduling a lovable chick flick (or a smart thriller) for release in January instead of June. But no matter how hopeful I may be, I’m rarely rewarded with that pleasant surprise. Instead, I get silly, scatterbrained chick flicks like When in Rome.
Kristen Bell stars as hard-working New Yorker Beth, who’s shocked (and appalled) when her younger sister, Joan (Alexis Dziena), announces that she’s getting married. In Rome. In two days. To a guy she met two weeks ago. (It’s probably best not to think about how she’s managed to plan this lavish Roman wedding—complete with a couple hundred guests and an entire Italian dance troupe—in two days.)
At the wedding, Beth meets best man Nick (Josh Duhamel). But just when she begins to think that she could have met The One, she sees him with someone else (which, of course, is just one big misunderstanding). Out of bitterness (and drunkenness), she takes a plunge in the city’s Fountain of Love and removes five coins, intending to liberate their owners from the pain of love. But, by removing the coins, she’s actually placed a spell on the owners, causing them to fall in love with her.
Back in New York, Beth is stalked by a group of amorous suitors—including Nick. But when she sees the poker chips in Nick’s apartment, she realizes that he, too, is just under the spell.
When in Rome seemed to have so many things going for it—including a pair of lovable stars, a gorgeous European setting, and an unusual plot that allowed for some zany supporting roles. Unfortunately, though, no two stars could possibly be lovable enough (and no supporting actors could be zany enough) to make up for the film’s jerky, spastic plot and goofy, slapstick comedy.
Though the story had such great potential, the execution is just a mess. The pacing is awkward and uneven—starting with the long and clunky setup, which features a completely unnecessary scene with Beth’s ex-boyfriend, a quick taxi ride through Rome (so viewers can get their Roman postcard views in 60 seconds or less), and a series of wacky slapstick moments at the wedding (which set the stage for the rest of the film’s random, slapstick insanity).
Still, despite the drawn-out setup, character development is thin, taking place in just a couple of quick exchanges. Beth is afraid of getting hurt because her dad’s a cad. And Nick’s just a sweet, thoughtful guy—with a completely random lack of peripheral vision that makes him run into things all the time. Both are flat, uninteresting clichés with very little going for them—other than the fact that they’re extremely good-looking, of course.
Meanwhile, the story is told in short, random snippets—so you never really get a chance to sit back and enjoy the romance. Just when Nick and Beth get a minute together, Nick will bump into something—or the four other guys will show up and do something completely, obnoxiously outrageous to pull them (and the audience) right back out of the moment.
There’s just nothing cohesive (or coherent, for that matter) about When in Rome. It’s a wacky mess of a chick flick, complete with annoying characters and sloppy writing—and even the European scenery is lacking. So if you’re in the mood for a romantic journey to Italy, it’s still best to stick with Roman Holiday.
Blu-ray Review:
Okay, so I didn’t exactly love When in Rome. Still, ever the optimist, I held on to some hope for the Blu-ray release—thinking that it might just include some magical little snippets of hilarity that somehow landed on the cutting room floor.
Mostly, though, the Blu-ray release is exactly what you might expect from a randomly wacky movie: a random collection of more wacky bloopers and deleted scenes (including an alternate opening and an alternate ending). There’s also a 12-minute making-of/behind-the-scenes feature, along with a couple of music videos and a super-secret hidden feature (hint: scroll down to the coin at the bottom of the special features menu) that could have been funny—but, instead, it just feels like an afterthought.
Fortunately, in small, bite-sized chunks, the extras are pretty harmless. While they aren’t necessarily hilarious, they’re not necessarily painful, either (except for the six-minute alternate opening—which was definitely reworked for a reason). They do, however, give some more insight into the movie—and why it turned out to be such a big, crazy free-for-all. It just seems that director Mark Steven Johnson was so amused by his comic cast that he let them run wild—and, in the process, he lost track of his characters and their story. For that insight, then, I’ll give the Blu-ray some credit. As for the movie itself, though…I’ll just chalk it up as another unlucky January release.
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