Why is it so hard to deliver a competent and entertaining romantic comedy? In a time when we are getting a record number of grim, post apocalyptic thrillers and action-heavy spectacles, why is a lighter-than-air genre proving near impossible to pull off?
I don’t know the answer, and it’s clear that When in Rome doesn’t either. It sputters out just as its getting started and nothing it tries—including an out of place but amusing Napoleon Dynamite gag—can ever get it up and running again. Right about now, Leap Year is looking pretty darn good. At least there the leads had chemistry.
It seems to be a law with modern rom-coms that they require a quirky central conceit upon which to hang the romance. When In Rome is all too happy to oblige this with the story of Beth, a New York museum curator (at the Guggenheim no less) who flies to Rome for her sister’s wedding and meets Nick, a dreamy NY sportswriter also at there for the big day. When she thinks this potential Mr. Right is with someone else, she gets desperate and starts scooping coins out of a fountain of Venus in the plaza.
The fantasy trope here is that when Beth returns to New York with five coins in her pocket, she has also waylaid the romantic destinies of the five men to whom the coins belong. Now Danny Devito, Jon Heder, Dax Shepherd, and Will Arnett are following her around New York (they all just happen to live there) like would-be stalkers. No extra credit for guessing the owner of that fifth coin. If you don’t know by now, it probably means you haven’t seen the trailers or this is your first romantic comedy.
Cobbled together by the screenwriting team that brought us Old Dogs (just kill me now), Rome takes what could be a clever and cute concept and then runs it right through the generic story factory, sucking out most of the cute and almost all of the clever. The four enchanted suitors are played completely for zany laughs, and each one falls flat in his own way.
Shepherd as a sassy self-absorbed model is by far the worst of the bunch, although Heder predictably strands his Criss Angel-esque magician with unconvincing quirk. There’s just not enough for Will Arnett to do here so he comes off more manic then he might otherwise. Devito, however, is a pro and he does manage to actually inject some character into his role, albeit not much.
Fortunately for anyone that might end up getting dragged to this by their significant other, it’s not a complete misery to watch. The reason for that lies entirely with the adorable and charming Kristen Bell, who gives each scene her all, even when that scene includes being groped by Danny Devito while he spews bizarre facts about sausage.
Bell has a natural perkiness to her personality and Rome is mercifully free of any straining on her part to sell us Beth’s cuteness. She also finds a way to navigate the myriad of slapstick sight gags without making us roll our eyes. She’s the best reason for the movie to exist, and I’m more than ready to follow her in a film that actually cares about her character. By the time Heder and Pedro (yes, ND’s Effrain Rameriez as Pedro) are breaking into her apartment, director Mark Steven Johnston (Ghost Rider) is throwing more at her than even she can chew.
Surprisingly, relative newcomer Josh Duhamel has enough self-effacing charm himself that he isn’t lost in the insane shuffle of late third act events. There’s not a completely convincing chemistry between he and Bell, but they do have an easy rapport that allows them both to catch the audience’s sympathy. Whether this comes from embodying their character’s unlucky-in-love foibles or from simply being likable stars in a daft movie is anyone’s guess.
You could do worse this weekend than When In Rome, but then you could do much better too. My advice is that if you are looking for a romantic comedy and happen to be at a theater still showing it, try Leap Year. If you have the benefit of time, rent Roman Holiday instead. There’s a bit of enchantment I can get behind.
Rating: 
