Kristen Bell jets off to Rome for her sister’s wedding and finds love. At least for a few moments until complications ensue. Of course, this only happens When in Rome.
The Plot
Beth is a hard-working curator at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, who is unlucky in love. When she attends her sister’s wedding in Rome, she meets Nick, and maybe, just maybe, he’s the one for her. After seeing him with another woman, Beth doubts herself and proceeds to go on a drunken rampage in a nearby fountain, where she steals four coins.
This fountain is a place for wishes where citizens and tourists alike cast a coin into the fountain in hopes of finding true love. When Beth returns to New York, she has four guys chasing after her, desperate to be with her who just happen to be the wishers of the coins.
While Beth is trying to avoid the creepy strangers that follow her everywhere, Nick has found her too and wants to make things right. After realizing her mistake with the coins, dealing with work issue which thanks to Nick is a success, Beth realizes that she needs to make things right with her admirers.
Explaining to each of them what she did and returning their coins, Beth and Nick are free to be together. Worried that Nick is only going to marry her because she has his poker chip from the fountain, she returns it to him and runs out of the wedding. Followed closely by a confused Nick, Beth learns that he never threw the poker chip into the fountain.
The Good
Kristen Bell is hilarious. She not only owns every scene she’s in, but Bell makes Beth likeable for her quirks and quarks. Life is tough for Beth, and she has her defensive wall to protect herself because relationships haven’t worked out well for her.
Josh Duhamel is a perfect pair for Bell. Not only do they have great chemistry, but Duhamel gets a moment to shine with a great costar in a story that is fun and enjoyable to watch. This is a movie where the audience will like Beth and Nick, and that’s because of the incredible casting for the leads.
Not to mention the supporting cast is dynamite. From Angelica Huston playing the gallery boss, to Danny DeVito, Jon Heder, Dax Sheppard, and Will Arnett as the amours from Italy, When in Rome is filled with small performances from some great actors.
The Bad and the Ugly
The plot of the film has four guys stalking a woman in New York. While the story is played for laughs, there is a definite cringe factor to the overall narrative.
Beyond the Film Facts
- Lawrence Taylor and Shaq make cameos as themselves in the film.
- Don Johnson plays Beth’s dad, but his role is uncredited.
- The movie had an opening weekend box office of over $12 million dollars.
- Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel were both nominated for Teen Choice Awards for their roles in the film.
- After the movie, Kristen Bell and Dax Sheppard married.
- Jon Heder’s street magician character Lance is a parody of Criss Angel.
- Lance’s assistant Juan is played by Efren Ramirez, Jon Heder’s costar from Napoleon Dynamite.
- The Fountain of Love in this film is based on the Fontana di Trevi. It is illegal to remove coins from the Trevi.
The Streamy Award
{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.
1 Reel-Watch on your Smartphone, 2 Reels-Tablet Time, 3 Reels-Travel Entertainment, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}
I like Kristen Bell and she can do anything. I knew nothing about this film prior to watching it, and throughout the picture, I was laughing and loving the story. Romantic comedies can be done wrong in many ways, but when you have a great pair of leads, the story can be incredible.
You don’t need to watch When in Rome on the biggest screen, but it would make perfect travel entertainment, and that’s why it gets a 3 Reels rating. Some movies are perfect to relax too, and When in Rome fits the bill.
Cast and Crew
- Kristen Bell as Beth
- Josh Duhamel as Nick
- Bobby Moynihan as Puck
- Danny DeVito as Al
- Jon Heder as Lance
- Dax Sheppard as Gale
- Will Arnett as Antonio
- Angelica Huston as Celeste
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Krasnoff Foster Productions
Release Date: January 29, 2010
Budget: $55 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $32,680,633
Worldwide Total: $43,053,376
Coming Soon
Next week we continue the Kristen Bell-athon with You Again.