A workaholic, Beth (Kristen Bell) is also unlucky in love. Things go from bad to worse for her when her ex shows up in what seems like a reconciliation attempt… but he’s just there to tell her he’s getting married. To add insult to injury, Beth has to travel to Rome to attend her little sister’s wedding. There, she meets Nick (Josh Duhamel), the best man.

The two hit it off, but when Beth sees another woman kissing him, she bitterly steals five coins from Rome’s Fountain of Love to steal the wishes of the lovelorn owners. Little does Beth know that stealing those coins triggered a spell that made their owners fall in love with her. This becomes a problem when Beth returns to the States and finds Nick pursuing her, along with four strange men.

With such a fun premise, I was expecting a lot more, especially given the talented cast. But When in Rome was incredibly disjointed to me. Danny Devito, Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, and Jon Heder play the besotted men who follow Beth to New York to try to win her affection. They’re all buffoons, of course, and while there may be one or two moments where I chuckled, their shenanigans in stalking Beth are more obnoxious than funny.

Bell and Duhamel have plenty of chemistry, and they did well enough with the material they were given, but it wasn’t enough to salvage the movie. Maybe if Beth had only stolen one coin – Nick’s – and realized he – and only he – was under this spell? It would have worked much better as a romantic comedy, giving more time to Beth and Nick’s blossoming romance. Instead, When in Rome focuses too much on random gags that tend to fall flat.

To be fair, the scenes in Rome were enjoyable, mainly because it is a beautiful place, and I wish the entire movie had stayed in Italy. But there was a side plot about Beth’s job and needing a specific kind of art to keep it, and… it felt insignificant to the plot beyond the grand-gesture moment when Nick won over Beth for good.

I wish I had something more constructive to say about When in Rome, but frankly, it’s just not that great a movie. I’m giving it 1.5 stars because Kristen Bell is always a joy to watch, and she and Duhamel had enough chemistry to make the movie tolerable. It’s a shame they weren’t paired up in a romantic comedy with a better script and a more cohesive direction.

Watched: 09/23/2020
Notable Song: Make You Feel My Love by Adele