FilmReview: When in Rome

In Three Coins in the Fountain, three American women sought decent men in Rome, city of love. Think of this modern version as Five Coins out of the Fountain. Beth, our hero, is one of those married-to-the-job types who, despite being attractive, intelligent and functional, can’t get a decent man. Having almost abandoned the idea, Beth (Kristen Bell) is knuckling down to curating a big show at the New York Guggenheim, under the sharp eye of her demanding boss (Anjelica Huston). One day, Beth’s younger sister Joan announces she’s getting married to a random Italian hunk she met on a flight. So a skeptical Beth hightails it over to Rome to join her flighty sister, lothario father, umpteenth stepmother and bitter mother for the wedding. No wonder Beth is on her own.

Needless to say, within minutes she has attracted the attention of handsome, witty New York journalist Nick. But just as Beth thinks her love life might be looking up, what does she see but her great white hope snogging an Italian sexpot. What a downer. Swigging from a bottle of champagne, Beth jumps into a nearby fountain (based on the Trevi), into which lovelorn losers throw coins hoping to find their Miss Right. Ranting against love, Beth scoops a handful of coins out of the fountain… unaware that legend has it if you remove a coin from the fountain, the thrower will fall in love with you. The hungover sister of the bride returns home, to find a motley crew of suitors of suitors (again, they conveniently happen to be New York based) pursuing her at every turn. Can she shake them off, before the chaos she’s causing pushes her snooty boss too far? And can Nick convince her that his feelings are genuine?

The plot is not exactly Citizen Kane. When in Rome is lighter and frothier than the foam on a skinny cappuccino. And in the wrong hands this romcom-cum-adult fairy tale could have been really nauseating. That it is not, is thanks mainly to the cast and the script, both of which are superior for this genre. The supporting cast boasts three veteran heavyweights – Anjelica Huston as a Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada icy boss, Danny DeVito as a diminutive sausage magnate besotted with Beth and, in a smaller role, Don Johnson as Beth’s aging Don Juan father (playing against type there, then). Huston is appropriately glacial, while roles like this have been the meat and potatoes of DeVito’s career. Comedian Dax Shepherd is the other standout character as a narcissistic wannabe model after Beth. But it’s whether we’re rooting for the leads that matters in movies like this. While Josh Duhamel (Mr Fergie from Black Eyed Peas, trivia fans) is blandly good-looking and affable enough, Kristen Bell carries the film, making Beth likeable, funny and believable.

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All the actors are helped by a script that in places really sparkles. “Who makes this, Fisher-Price?” asks DeVito’s sausage king in horror, upon seeing a small Italian car. Some of the humor is more slapstick and obvious, not all the gags work, and Josh Duhamel walks into way too many poles, but the flick elicits enough goodwill from its audience that you can forgive it the odd false step.

When in Rome doesn’t try to be realistic – you can sense the guiding hand of Disney. But these days, it is rare to find a romcom that isn’t patronising, at the best, awful at the worst. This is neither.

Debbie Stowe

Director: Mark Steven Johnson

Starring: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Anjelica Huston, Danny DeVito

On at: Sala VIP, Cinema City Cotroceni, Cinema City Cotroceni, Cityplex, Movieplex Cinema