You, Me & Tuscany Review

Some movies give everything away in the trailer. You, Me & Tuscany is the kind of flick you can sum up with just the poster. Looking at any promotional image, audiences should be able to predict exactly what they’re going to get. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re in the mood for a cross between While You Were Sleeping and Under the Tuscan Sun. It’s not like those films radically shook up the rom-com formula either, but they’re still remembered years later. Will You, Me & Tuscany be remembered? In any case, it’s an enjoyable enough date movie for couples who can’t handle The Drama.

Halle Bailey was the best element the live-action Little Mermaid remake had in its corner. She’s still charming here as Anna, a culinary school dropout with barely $500 in her bank account. Anna nonetheless lives a glamorous life as a house sitter for New Yorkers with too much cash to burn. After her latest job falls through, Anna finds herself sulking in a hotel bar where she meets Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor). They have a sort of one-night stand, as Matteo falls asleep before anything can happen. Before dozing off, Matteo tells Anna about his villa in Tuscany, which she’s always dreamed of visiting.

Inspired to take a chance, Anna flies to Tuscany, where she finds all of the hotels booked. Remembering Matteo’s place, Anna figures that he won’t mind/notice if she crashes there while he’s away. What she doesn’t count on is his family dropping in. As contrived screenwriting would have it, Anna is wearing an engagement ring that Matteo had stashed away. This leads to misunderstandings, hijinks, and conflicted feelings, including Anna falling for Matteo’s hunky cousin Michael (Regé-Jean Page). Anna and Michael don’t get along at first, but that’s nothing taking his shirt off can’t solve.

Yeah, there aren’t many surprises, but to You, Me & Tuscany’s credit, it doesn’t dwell on the clichés that usually slow down a rom-com like this. Although we inevitably get the “liar revealed” trope, the aftermath isn’t dragged out. While Matteo has an ex-fiancée who grows jealous of Anna, there isn’t a one-dimensional villain. Bailey and Page have a natural chemistry, although this isn’t just their love story. Anna falls for Michael and Matteo’s whole family, which includes Isabella Ferrari as the mother and

While You, Me & Tuscany is romantic enough, the comedy could’ve used some punching up. The film has several scenes that forget to include a punchline. One example is when Anna arrives at a booked hotel, inquiring if there are any secret rooms for celebrities. The receptionist asks if she’s a celebrity, and the scene just ends. What if Anna replied, “Yes, I’m Chloe Bailey!” The advertising notes that the film is from Will Packer, the producer of Girls Trip, although You, Me & Tuscany doesn’t come close to meeting that underrated comedy’s laugh ratio. It doesn’t seem like the film is aiming for one laugh after another, however. It’s lighthearted escapism, and on that level, it’s a portrait of the lovely Tuscan countryside with even lovelier people set against it.