Disney/Buena Vista | 2010 | 91 mins. | Rated PG-13
When in Rome is a paint-by-the-numbers romantic comedy that desperately wants to be something more. It tries for moments of significance, moments of introspection, moments obviously meant to speak to women about romance. However, those rarely work, and in their wake we are left with comedic scenes that might have been throwaways from Napoleon Dynamite or an old Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie. When in doubt, director Mark Steven Johnson (Ghost Rider), and screenwriters David Diamond and David Weissman cram the entire cast into a ridiculously small car. This is a film that tries hard to be both serious and funny, and fails miserably on both counts.
Kristen Bell (Serious Moonlight, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) stars as an art curator named Beth, an independent, successful woman fresh of a relationship. During an art exhibit, her boyfriend shows up to remind her that she’s all business with little room for romance. Later, she’s invited to attend her younger sister’s wedding in Rome. While there, she clicks with Nick (Josh Duhamel), a hunky American who happens to be just as wacky as she is. But when she catches glimpse of him with another woman, Beth suddenly goes nuts and steals wishes from “the fountain of love.”
With that act, she becomes cursed. In the most ridiculous turn of events, the owners of the coins from the fountain (played by Jon Heder, Danny DeVito, Dax Shepard, and Will Arnett), fall madly in love with her. Even stranger is the fact that all these men happen to be from New York. Frighteningly, they know where she works, lives, eats lunch, etc. In a city of over 1 million people, they seem to be able to find her wherever she is. Talk about suspension of belief.
The bulk of the film follows their stalker-like attempts to pursue her, while Beth works on trying to set up an important show at the Guggenheim—one that could mean her job. Most of what comedy there is, comes from the would be suitors, but Nick’s friend, Puck (Bobby Moynihan, SNL) also offers up some yuks as the confidante; Same with Kate Micucci (‘Til Death, Scrubs) as the female BFF. For the most part though, When in Rome consists of endless sight gags, and absurd dialogue intended to be witty.
When in Rome is a misfire on all fronts, but the biggest problem may be that it’s too convenient to be entertaining and actually ends up becoming somewhat frustrating to watch. Anyone watching closely enough will figure out the ending pretty quickly. Sadly, this dreck of a film wastes what seems like good chemistry between Bell and Duhamel. Unfortunately, When in Rome has earned a spot on my list of worst movies ever made.
The picture quality is very good. Skin-tones are true, colors are bold and vibrant, edge detail is strong, and there’s a nice sense of 3-dimensionality. When in Rome is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio and “enchanced” for 16×9 televisions.
The audio is the standard Dolby DTS-HD MA 5.1 that’s rapidly becoming the standard, and reproduction of voices is exceptional. The bass end doesn’t have much rumble, but this isn’t an action movie. The dialogue, music, and effects are well modulated.
English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.
The special features are limited here. There’s a 12-minute featurette on “Crazy Casanovas” featuring the would-be suitors on-set talking about the film, along with seven minutes of deleted scenes, seven minutes of music videos (“Starstrukk” by 30H!3 featuring Katy Perry and “Stupid Love Letter” by Friday Night Boys), a three-minute blooper reel, a three-minute extended scene, and a seven-minute clip showing an alternate opening and ending. The most interesting moment comes from the director, who explains the suitors. “We wanted each to embody one of the traits that people look for in an ideal mate: Successful (DeVito’s character), Creative (Arnett’s), Mysterious (Heder’s), Handsome (Shepard’s), and Faithful (Duhamel’s).
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