Blu-Ray Review: When In Rome

When In Rome
Written by:  David Diamond & David Weissman
Directed by:  Mark Steven Johnson
Starring:  Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Dax Shepard, with Danny DeVito and Angelica Huston

Special Features: Blu-Ray exclusives: Alternate Opening & Ending, Crazy Casanovas: Mischief from the Set - Off-the-wall cast & crew featurette, "Extended Pain With The Suiters" - Extended scenes, suitors turn the Museum into their own pain exhibit, bloopers, deleted scenes, music videos for "Starstruck" by 3oh!3 featuring Katy Perry and "Stupid Love Letter" by Friday Night Boys.

From the box:

Bring home the must-own romantic comedy of the year, filled with wildly funny twists and turns!  When Beth, an unlucky-in-love New York curator (Kristen Bell), takes a whirlwind trip to Rome for her sister's wedding, an unexpected crush takes her by surprise.  Quickly let down, she defiantly plucks coins from the Fontana de Amore, magically igniting the passions of some comically unsuitable suitors.  As a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) becomes zealously smitten, Beth is skeptical that he's the real deal.  Don't miss hilarious performances from an all-star cast you'll want to see again and again, plus exclusive Blu-ray bonus material featuring an alternate opening and ending.

"From the studio that brought you The Proposal" is the selling point for When In Rome.  Not "From the Director of Daredevil and Ghost Rider" or "Starring that guy from Transformers!"  What it should say is, "starring the actress that saves the movie from being a complete failure, Kristen Bell!"  Because honestly, had she not starred in this film, it most likely would have been terrible.  It's her limitless charm that take this movie from its by the numbers premise to something that in the end is pretty enjoyable.  All thanks to the charms of Kristen Bell.

That's not to say the rest of the cast is bad.  They're all fine and bring their own funny to the roles.     Angelia Huston has about 10 minutes of screen time and seems to be doing her best Miranda Priestly. While everyone does well, no one really stands out besides Bell.  I will say that the chemistry between Bell and Duhamel is pretty strong and lends some credibility to the story.

The script is so cut and dry and formulaic that you can almost call each scene before it happens.  Despite that, I did find myself getting caught up in the ridiculousness of what happens.  Predictable yes, but still fun.  Smart?  No.  Original?  Nah. Good?  Not really, but that doesn't mean it's bad either.  It's just okay.  It's entertaining for 90 minutes and its star gives it life when it should have just fallen flat and slipped off the radar.

The film of course looks great on Blu-ray and it has a good number of special features, including the ones exclusive to the format.  In the end though, the success of When In Rome falls squarely on the shoulders of its lead, Kristen Bell.  She brings a much needed spark to an otherwise blah story.

Overall, When In Rome is a movie that RomCom fans might just eat up.  General cinema fans will find themselves under Kristen Bell's spell all the while knowing they should be hating every second of this movie but still finding a way to like it.

Did I love it?  No.  I did like it though, more than I ever expected to.  It's one of those terrible movies that finds its way into your good graces.  I said it before and I'll end this review saying it again, the success of When In Rome falls is entirely the doing of Kristen Bell.  Let's hope we see her headlining more (and better) films.

When In Rome is available now.