Film, as a medium, should evoke some sort of emotion. It could be adoration, a laugh, a thought or even just a mumbled ‘wow’ that is either positive or negative.
When in Rome, somehow, probably won’t make the typical viewer feel anything.
It’s a comedy (supposedly), but any time it almost seems deserving of some sort of praise, something kitschy happens that relegates that possible positive feeling back to ambivalence. It’s a shame too, because the movie is filled to the brim with acting talent, but the talent is wasted for most of the film’s 91 minutes.
When In Rome centers around Beth (Kristen Bell, Couple’s Retreat), a workaholic curator at the Guggenheim Museum in New York who, as we are constantly reminded, has had quite a bad streak of luck in the love department. She acknowledges this, and after meeting a seemingly perfect match in sportswriter Nick (Josh Duhamel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) at her sister’s wedding in Rome she mans up and tries to pursue him. That is, until she sees him kiss another woman outside the reception hall.
Crushed by yet another blow to her love life, Beth drunkenly wanders to a nearby fountain and takes five coins from it. Unfortunately for he — and us, really — the fountain is magic.
Anyone who takes a coin from the water will be romantically pursued by the person who threw the coin.
When Beth gets back to New York, she is stalked by five different men, all of whom conveniently live in the Big Apple even though the coins came from Rome.
What comes next is even worse because the movie is not just a paint-by-numbers romantic comedy — it’s a train wreck. One-dimensional characters pollute the screen and easy-to-predict plot “developments” come left and right. It’s a shame.
Bell is a beautiful and extremely charismatic actress who never has a chance to shine in the film, even though she’s basically playing a watered-down version of her fantastic guest-star spot on Starz’s underrated television comedy Party Down. There are a few moments where shows why Veronica Mars was such a great show, but then she’ll have an awful monologue and those fond memories go out the window.
Dax Shepard (Baby Mama) and Will Arnett (30 Rock) are both forgettable in their roles as two of Beth’s pursuers. This is especially irritating, as both actors possess some great comedic talent.
Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) is the only person who stands out in the flick, stealing every scene he appears in. While his character earns some laughs, it’s hard to tell if it’s just a reflection of his TV character Frank Reynolds. Will non-fans of that show still think he’s funny here?
And then there’s Jon Heder (Woke Up Dead), who actually pulls off quite a feat in the film.
Heder is an actor who is best known as Napoleon Dynamite, and yet he has done little to stifle his one famous identity since the film came out in 2004. Not only does he act like a Dynamite-David Blaine hybrid in this film, but he actually reinforces his Dynamite typecast by appearing in a scene with Efren Ramirez, who’s only recognizable role to date is that of Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite. However, in this movie, Heder’s cameo is likely to be a highlight.
The problems with the film go so far beyond just the acting. The film’s issues aren’t really the actors’ fault because the script is just plain terrible. It’s chock-full of clichés — most of which are downright annoying to watch — and decisions that simply don’t make sense.
For instance, the total time actually spent in Rome — you know, the namesake of the movie — is about 20 minutes tops. There’s also an inexplicable amount of awful slapstick gags that really don’t mesh well with the rest of the movie.
The movie doesn’t evoke any real feelings. It’s hard to completely hate, yet it’s hard to like. It will most likely cause viewers to leave feeling nothing.
However, the first scene was described by one astute audience member sitting next to me as prompting him to “want to rip [his] face off a little.” So I guess that means not everyone agrees with this review.
When In Rome can cause some emotion — disgust.
klucas@umdbk.com
RATING: 1 star out of 5
