Attention Roaming
Beth (Kristen Bell) is a career focussed New Yorker who when her sister is getting married in Rome, Italy she flies out for just 48 hours to attend the wedding. But whilst out there she falls for Nick (Josh Duhamel), her brother-in-law's brother, except when she sees another woman kissing him she gets drunk and ends up taking coins out of a fountain where lonely hearts drop coins and make wishes. When Beth returns to New York she finds herself with a wacky bunch of suitors whose coins it is she removed from the fountain and through a magic spell are plaguing her life. The only thing she can do is to return the coins and it will break the spell except she has realised one of the coins belongs to Nick who she has started seeing again.
There is a scene in "When in Rome" where Beth has to give a speech at her sister's wedding where all the guests speak Italian so Nick offers to translate and of course he doesn't say what she says. It is an old joke but in truth it is the best joke in the entire movie and as it comes relatively early on it lifts your expectations. Unfortunately what follows is humour about an over the top Italian artist, a street magician, an old man as well as an egotistical male model and to be honest none of this was that entertaining. To make matters worse the supporting cliche characters of best friends and so on are a much of a forgettable muchness.
The knock on effect of this is that "When in Rome" comes down to a couple of basic elements. Firstly is the simple fact that Kristen Bell is as cute as a button and that makes her highly likeable and watchable. And then there is Josh Duhamel who is laid back handsome and whilst I would never say that "When in Rome" features great romantic chemistry the cast have a certain appeal which keep you watching more than what happens does.
What this all boils down to is that "When in Rome" is an easy on your eye romantic comedy with some likeable actors. But it isn't a great romantic comedy and in truth is distinctly ordinary although still passable.
