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POSTED ON FRI, 29/01/2010 @ 05:02 BY:
KIMBERLY GADETTE
IMO MAGAZINE
When in Rome ... what? The title is not just a cliché but,
states Kimberly Gadette, a fragmented one to boot.
Perhaps an inadvertent portent of the film itself?
In an attempt to understand the bottom of the chick-flick,
rom-com barrel that is When in Rome, its plot predicated
around the tossing of coins, the following might be as likely
a scenario as any other:
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screenplay in less than an hour."
Screenwriter David #2: "You think? OK, I'll take that bet,
but let's make it a half-hour. Now it's my turn: I'll bet we can write a bigger flop than our last
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Where to begin. Certainly not in Rome, a city that might want to sue this film for its inclusion
in such a piece of brainless pap. Maybe we should start in New York, with the movie's
usage of such hackneyed locales as Columbus Circle, Central Park's Bethesda Fountain,
the Guggenheim Museum and sparkling nighttime aerial shots of the Chrysler Building.
Perhaps, in an attempt to entice us with shiny objects, the filmmakers hoped we wouldn't
notice the idiocy unfolding on the screen.
ACTION / ADVENTURE
ADAPTATION
COMEDY
DRAMA
FAMILY
HORROR
MARTIAL ARTS
ROMANTIC COMEDY
SCI-FI
THRILLER
But like the Guggenheim's iconic spiral ramp, coiling upwards toward the heavens ... I'm
getting ahead of myself.
Peppy workaholic Beth (Kristen Bell), an up-and-coming museum curator, doesn't think
she's destined for true love. But at her sister's whirlwind wedding in Rome, she laughs,
dances and flirts with a charming Mr. Right named Nick (an engaging Josh Duhamel). When
she follows him outside, and sees him leaning against a hot Italian lady in red, Beth
assumes that Nick's previous flirtations with her were insincere. Drunk, she wades into a
nearby fountain and instead of enacting the usual custom of making a wish while tossing in
a coin, she helps herself to a handful of coins previously thrown by others. Old Italian spells
being what they are, Beth's coin kleptomania triggers a disparate group of strangers (who all
conveniently reside in her hometown of Manhattan) into suddenly become enamored of her
in a molto grande way. Cue hilarity, which is supposed to ensue.
WAR
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There is so much wrong with David Diamond and David Weissman's plot that, borrowing the
Guggenheim ramp analogy one more time, it's hard to know where to begin. The most
glaring problem occurs immediately: since Nick has been charmed by her for an entire
evening before she plucks the assorted coins (and who knows if any of them are his?), then
he's obviously not bound by some spell. Other issues: her enchanted suitors not only
recognize her instantly, but they know her full name and where she lives, easily breaking
into her apartment and approaching her at her workplace. Her assistant, understanding that
Beth's career is on the line with any misstep over an impending art show, scuttles the
delivery of the show's centerpiece. Why? No reason, except that the screenwriters must
have heard that concocting actions that will create conflict is a good thing. They might want
to revisit this concept in order to understand that characters' actions need to logically align
with who they are, as they exist within the particular universe of the story.
Which brings us to character. Or lack thereof. Angelica Huston's boss is a two-dimensional
cartoon, as are the suitors (with the singular exception of Danny DeVito, trying to stuff some
humanity into his enamored sausage king). But since director Mark Steven Johnson had
previously directed comic book adaptations (Ghost Rider, Daredevil), perhaps he can't
control himself from forcing his romantic lead to crash into immobile objects à la Wile E.
Coyote. Nick actually has a back story, left unexplored – he was a football player with a
promising career that abruptly ended due to a nasty bolt of lightning. But since our heroine
only whines about her miserable luck, never uttering so much as a polite "And how are you?
," we never get a true sense of who this Nick actually is. But what the heck, this is romantic
comedy, so of course she falls in love. And he falls in love. It's love falling, stumbling,
crashing all the livelong day. As for audience love? Not so much.
Though it's only the end of January, this film dares to set a brand new low for 2010.
Congratulations on a job, um, done.
Rating on a scale of 5 magic coins that might erase these 106 wasted minutes: 0.5
Release date: US: 29 January 2010; UK: 23 April 2010
Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson
Written by: David Diamond & David Weissman
Cast: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Anjelica Huston, Danny DeVito, Will Arnett, Jon Heder,
Dax Shepard, Alexis Dziena, Kate Micucci
Rating: US = PG-13; UK = tbd
Running time: 106 minutes
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ADD NEW COMMENT
29/01/2010 @ 05:41
PaulMartin
Movie Jedi
Danny DeVito as an 'enamored sausage king'? How can such a movie
fail?
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http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/reviews/when-in-rome-290110[2/18/10 9:55:49 AM]