This may not be your first choice when it comes to a film to take up 105 minutes of your time, and it wasn't my first choice either, but You, Me & Tuscany aims to be a sunny and soppy bit of fun pairing up two leads that hopefully have enough charm to win over most viewers. How much fun you have with the film will depend on whether or not you DO consider the leads charming though.
Halle Bailey plays Anna, a young woman who tries to make a living from house-sitting. She's not great at it though, especially when caught in the act of wearing clothes that belong to someone she is working for. Down on her luck, majorly down in her finances, and considering some time away from it all, Anna enjoys an evening in the company of Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), who convinces her to take a long-overdue holiday to Italy. Once there, Anna takes a bit of a liberty, however, by staying at Matteo's empty villa. And a couple of Matteo's relatives pop in while Anna is trying on a ring that she found in the villa, leading to the obvious idea that Anna is due to marry Matteo. Soon enjoying time with the family, and unable to reveal the truth, things become more complicated when Anna falls for Matteo's cousin (actually more like a brother), Michael (Regé-Jean Page).
Written by Ryan Engle, fleshing out a story co-created with his wife, Kristin, You, Me & Tuscany is very silly and fanciful stuff from start to finish. I doubt anyone will start watching this without having an idea of where it will all end, but it's a shame that there are absolutely no surprises placed anywhere throughout the story, and too few laughs, despite the opportunity for them to be more liberally scattered around. It's a Christmas TV movie in a summer dress. You get the deceased parent, and the weight of their memory. You get the woman travelling somewhere out of her comfort zone, destine for a meet-cute with an unbelievably charming and good-hearted man. There's the sassy and fun best friend (played by Aziza Scott, sadly relegated to being present only via text message form for most of the runtime).And there's heavy-handed messaging about following your heart, being true to yourself, and becoming part of a new family unit.
It may not be the best feature helmed by director Kat Coiro, but she at least makes good use of some beautiful and sunny locations, although a couple of main interiors may have helped to keep the budget lower than it could have been. It's not at all cinematic, but it's generally cute and mildly enjoyable.
Bailey is decent in her role, as is Page, and the two leads certainly have some chemistry. It's not always there, anything too passionate dampened by the safe and sanitised approach to the material, but it appears just enough to make their will they/won't they journey something that viewers can feel invested in. Lorenzo de Moor has fun as he gets to appear both good and bad to people, and Marco Calvani is a highlight, portraying a friendly and useful Italian cab driver. Isabella Ferrari, Paolo Sassanelli, and Stefania Casini all feel believable enough as, respectively, the mother, father, and grandmother of Matteo, and Stella Pecollo is a lot of fun as Francesca, someone with an odd view on just what makes a happy marriage.
Some will find this pleasant enough. I can't imagine anyone being a huge fan of it though. It's decidedly average in every way, the kind of film that will probably only be remembered by people when it's picked up by a streaming service and given some promotion in one of their prime spots.
5/10
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