I love the people who trash romantic comedies that deliver exactly what you expect a romantic comedy to deliver. "When in Rome" is nothing more and nothing less than a cookie cutter chick flick about romance, finding love, a happy ending, with some jokes thrown in to make you laugh. I enjoyed the movie and for the fee of renting it on demand, felt it was well worth the 91 minutes of run time, not including previews of course. Please people, who doesn't think that Kristen Bell is cute and even my girlfriend perks up a little when Josh Duhamel comes on screen.
Kristen Bell plays a working woman who finds her job much more rewarding than any relationship she can find. It doesn't mean she isn't sad nothing has worked out with the men in her life. It just means that she can feel rewarded standing on her own two feet. Hello, am I connecting with the female population yet? She is a lead curator at the Guggenheim museum and just when she concedes to living a life of solitaire, her sister decides to get married and things go a little haywire. So off to Rome she flies for a weekend of family hell.
While in the romantic city she picks a few coins out of a fountain and unknowingly captures the hearts of some lucky dudes who had previously dropped them in the mysterious fountain. While the magic is working its way towards insanity she meets Josh Duhamel who happens to actually like her. The two of them make a great pair. As corny as the scene is with breaking the vase and short circuiting the electricity, it actually made me laugh. Without giving too much away, the commercials do that all too well already, I will say that several scenes had me laughing pretty loud at times. It really was a funny movie, even if it was a little trite and predictable.
In my book Dax Shepard was absolutely hilarious with his washboard stomach. He spent most of the movie with his shirt off as he looked at himself almost as much as he sat admiring Kristen Bell. How this guy is not cast in more movies is beyond me, but we can continue to enjoy his work next season in Parenthood.
Anyway, I enjoyed the movie. If you go in expecting a nice romantic comedy with several funny scenes you will leave happy. It isn't anything ground breaking and there is no thought involved. It is simply 91 minutes of mindless entertainment where everything works out in the end. What more can you ask from a movie of this nature. In my book it delivered, so have a few laughs and move on to the next one. Hollywood has been making these since the moving picture was invented, and it will continue as long as people buy the tickets to see them. I for one think it was adequately worth the price.
So, I realize that I am writing this right when it shows up in theaters, but I decided to go ahead and rate the movie based on the actual movie (not the DVD), because alot of times I will go on here to see what other people are saying about the movie, before I go see it. So, I decided to do that for this movie. :)
Overall, I enjoyed When in Rome. It's a great chick-flick.
When in Rome tells the story of Beth (Kristen Bell) who, while visiting Rome for her younger sister's wedding, realizes that she may never actually settle down because no man has ever ranked above her job. So, in a drunken craze, she visits the Fountain of Love and removes several coins from the fountain's water. This brings five guys (Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Danny Devito, and most importantly Josh Duhamel) into her life...all of whom have fallen madly in love with her. She has to figure out a way to break this spell, while also trying to figure out whether or not some of those feelings may be for real.
As I said, overall it was an enjoyable movie. It is one of those movies that you have to accept that it's not supposed to happen in real life. I mean, it's all about magic and falling in love with the right people. It does have funny enough parts to keep a guy entertained, but it is definitely a chick flick that I recommend. It made me want to visit Italy and find this so-called Fountain of Love. :)
Buy When in Rome (2010) Now
Leads Kristen Bell & Josh Duhamel have fantastic chemistry in this very light romantic comedy; however, the supporting cast is even more impressive: Anjelica Huston, Danny DeVito, Don Johnson, Peggy Lipton, Dax Shephard, as well as the duo from Napoleon Dynamite Jon Heder & Efren Ramirez (Vote Pedro!). Here's the plot: Beth (Kristen Bell) puts her career at the Guggenheim first since her love life has continually left her burned. Things begin to change when she meets the best man, Nick (Duhamel) at her sister's wedding in Rome. Unknowingly, by taking 5 coins from the Fountain of Love during a drunken romp, she causes 5 men to fall madly in love with her. All 5 follow her back to America and stalk her...until she is able to return the coins to them to break the spell. Although she loves Nick, she discovers that his love might have been caused by one of the coins; should she return the coin to him or live without fear that he will leave her? The plot is very predictable, so not a lot of surprises, but the comedy from her suitors as they attempt to impress her provides most of the hijinks here. Heder as an amateur Criss Angel magician is definitely the funniest of the bunch.
Overall, the film is enjoyable even if predictable; a little uneven, it goes from insightful comedy & drama into downright stupidity all in the same scene. In the hands of a more experienced director, this one really could have been much better and with the talented cast, it's a real crime that the opportunity for perfection was missed. I would recommend this movie mainly to the teen/early 20's group who seems to have really enjoyed it the most.
SPECS:
91 minutes * Video: Widescreen 1080p, 2:35:1, Enhanced for 16x9 TVs. Audio: Dolby TrueHD (48kh2/24-bit) & 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound (Bluray); English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound & Spanish & French Dolby Digital 2.0 (DVD). Languages: English, Spanish, and French. Subtitles: Spanish & French.
I actually enjoyed the extras almost as much (if not more) than the movie.
DVD Bonus Features:
-Kerplunk! Bloopers from Rome (3 minutes): You really get a sense that the cast worked well together and was having fun during the entire shoot in this medley of expected flubs from the making of this film.
-Deleted Scenes (7 minutes on Blu-ray): Usually I feel the deleted scenes were correctly removed from a film; however, in this case, there are some that would have added some extra humor, including a very funny bit with Dax Shepard in front of an Abercrombie & Fitch store.
-Music Videos: "Starstrukk" by 3OH3! with Katy Perry RT and "Stupid Love Letter" by Friday Night Boys RT.
Additional Extras on Bluray:
-Alternate Opening & Ending (7 minutes) (these were wisely not used!)
-Crazy Casanovas: Mischief From The Set (12 minutes): We meet our hilarious cast and crew that brought this film to life
-Extended Scenes (3 minutes): Pain with the Suitors. Deleted sequence showing the final exhibit at the Guggenheim with the suitors providing a few funny moments, some which would have been great in the finished film (especially an electric chair sequence with Jon Heder).
-Additional Deleted Scenes (7 minutes of deleted scenes total on the Blu-ray): The deleted scenes on the Blu-ray are Getting Married, Playing Cat & Mouse (cute Danny DeVito bit), Setting the Record Straight, Throwing Out The Mummy, It's The Naked Lady, The Saddest Thing, Look Both Ways, Suitors Make A Scene.
Sneak Previews: Alice in Wonderland, ESPN World Cup 2010, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Lost: The Complete Sixth And Final Season, and On Blu-Ray Disc
There is some adult humor and some mild (I mean mild!) sexual situations that would make this film not a great fit for the wee ones. Other than the paintings, there is no nudity in this film.
Read Best Reviews of When in Rome (2010) Here
I purchased this movie to watch over the weekend with a few close friends. It's a movie that doesn't require a lot of thinking. It's entertaining and a cute movie. Worth watching if you like cute and funny.
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I'm going to quit watching romantic comedies for a while; they have been totally abused and over done; this movie is no exception. Cute and good looking people are not necessarily funny, and getting some famous stars to act in a stupid plot doesn't make it a good plot as you can see in this movie. A cute girl takes coins out of the love fountain in Rome, while attending her sister's wedding and suddenly many men start falling for her (I still can't figure why her sister looks like she's 12. Is that even legal?) . Anyway, she believes that all of the guys are falling for her because of the coins she picked up, including a guy that she really likes. The moral of the story is that the girl doesn't want to have some body's love against their will, I think she needs to figure out that this is what alcohol is for, but she reaches a different conclusion! You might want to see for yourself, if you have an hour or so to kill!
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I am a semi-recent hockey fan, female, from California, and also a big movie fanatic in general, and I found this movie to be entertaining, funny, fun, not too gory or anything... The main character was consistently charming and endearing in a sincere way... The pace was good. As a "puckhead," I know what details are a lil bit exaggerated, but as a movie fanatic, the narrative was engaging, fast-paced, not too formulaic, adventurous, and simply sweet in all regards!!! I wish there were more movies like this out there! GO DOUGIE!!!!
