Sometimes a film’s recipe is complicated. There are expansive worlds, hyper realistic CGI, millions of dollars worth of visual effects, motion capture, pages of lore, and a cast list so long it adds five minutes to the runtime. But at the same time, there’s a delicate art to the simpler kinds of films that is missing. The kind of films where there’s no green screen, everything is wrapped up within 100 minutes, and life is blissfully uncomplicated. Director Kat Coiro (“Marry Me,” “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”) has delivered a film just like that, aiming to whisk you off to the Italian countryside from the comfort of your local multiplex with “You, Me & Tuscany.”
The film follows Anna, played by Halle Bailey (“The Little Mermaid (2023),” “The Color Purple (2023)”), a young 20-something woman living in New York City as a house sitter for the rich and famous. After a chance encounter with handsome Italian real estate agent Matteo, played by Lorenzo de Moor (“Another Simple Favor,” “Robbing Mussolini”), she decides to take an impromptu trip to his hometown of Tuscany and sneaks into his abandoned villa home. After Matteo’s mother Gabriella and grandmother Nonna, played by Isabella Ferrari (“The Story of a Poor Young Man,” “Distretto di Polizia”) and Stefania Casini (“1900,” “Lontano da dove”) respectively, find her, she pretends to be Matteo’s fiancé to avoid being arrested. This all goes well until she begins to fall for Matteo’s cousin Michael, played by Regé-Jean Page (“Bridgerton,” “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”), in the process.
Bailey and Page are where the film sparkles the most, with the pair having a lightly antagonistic relationship that slowly blossoms over the course of Anna’s adventure. Things are kept nice and sweet, contrived and calm, throughout their romance, and Page’s smolder certainly does a lot of work endearing her to him. Bailey is pulling from her Disney experience, with big bright eyes and a big beaming smile. She contorts herself to almost be a sort of misunderstood princess lost in a land she doesn’t understand, but Bailey does manage to make Anna a protagonist easy to root for. They’re, quite simply, and adorable and attractive pair of actors to watch waltz through this kind of material.
The supporting cast meanwhile fills exactly the kind of roles you’d expect them to. Gabriella is the overbearing mother excited at the prospect of her son getting married, Nonna is overprotective and suspicious of everything, Vincenzo, Matteo’s father played by Paolo Sassanelli (“Song'e Napule,” “Classe di ferro”), is gruff and cold until Anna wins him over, and Lorenzo, played by Marco Calvani (“The Four Seasons,” “High Tide”) is a borderline fairy godfather cab driver who takes a liking to Anna. The only character the film really forgets about is Anna’s best friend Claire, played by Aziza Scott (“One of Them Days,” “Home Before Dark”), who calls her throughout the film until she just stops doing so. Among the packed supporting cast, Calvani is the clear standout as Lorenzo, simply due to how effortlessly charming and self-aware he seems to be in his role. Everyone else is simply fine, filling their roles without excelling in any of them.
“You, Me & Tuscany” is packed with gorgeous Italian landscapes, gorgeous Italian people, and gorgeous Italian food. Screenwriters Ryan Engle (“Rampage,” “The Commuter”) and Kristin N. Engle bring that last aspect directly into the story through Anna’s deep love of cooking and it adds a welcome bit of depth to her character. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the film as a whole, which seems determined to check off every single box in the rom-com playbook. Virtually nothing here stands out distinctly. That’s not to say it isn’t an enjoyable little cinematic trip overseas, but it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to rewatch this over a plethora of other stronger examples in the genre.
“You, Me, & Tuscany” has the sights, it has the tastes, it has the people, it has everything wrapped up to make for a perfect example of the rom-com genre. Maybe too perfect, as the film itself fails to stand out from the genre despite its gorgeous locations and charming pair at its center. It’s still highly likely to put a smile on your face and make you forget about your troubles for 100 minutes. This is cinematic comfort food in the form of a nice plate of Italian cuisine. It’s just a dish you’ve almost certainly had before. 3/5
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