About the film (courtesy of Universal Pictures):
Halle Bailey stars as Anna, a young woman who has abandoned her dreams of becoming a chef and is now drifting through her twenties with a series of bad choices. When Anna loses her house-sitting job (and housing) in one fell swoop, a chance encounter with Matteo—a handsome Italian who happens to have a villa sitting empty in Tuscany—will inspire her to jet off for Italy, against the advice of her always-honest bestie, Claire (Aziza Scott). But Anna’s plan to crash at Matteo’s villa, without permission, just for one night, falls apart when Matteo’s mother, Gabriella (Italian film icon Isabella Ferrari) shows up at the house unexpectedly. In a panic, Anna allows Gabriella to believe that she is Matteo’s fiancée. That little lie becomes a big problem, though, when Matteo’s cousin, Michael (Regé-Jean Page) shows up, and Anna discovers that the heat between them may ignite a fire that will transform her life.
In a cinematic landscape often crowded with cynical reboots and high-concept thrillers, You, Me & Tuscany arrives like a perfectly chilled glass of Chianti. It is a rom-com with a bit of native Italian spice, a fun and lighthearted spin on an ever-growingly popular genre. The film provides a fresh flavor that almost all adults will want to get a taste of, masterfully balancing themes of escapism with grounded human expression and the kind of adventure that surely everyone, at least once in their life, has found themselves longing for.
You, Me & Tuscany features Anna (Halle Bailey, best known for her role in Disney’s “Little Mermaid”) as a down on her luck culinary school dropout turned homesitter. Fired from her latest job and desperate to find meaning she meets Matteo (Lorenzo De Moor) who encourages her to chase her dreams and take the Italian vacation that she always dreamed of.
However, the “adventure” takes a turn for the chaotic when Anna decides to break into Matteo’s stunning villa to enjoy its amenities in secret. The tension ramps up when Matteo’s grandmother and mother arrive unexpectedly. What follows is a classic “web of lies” scenario: Anna claims to be engaged to Matteo to save face, only to find herself deeply entrenched in the warmth and complexity of this tight-knit family. The real heart of You, Me & Tuscany, however, lies in the unexpected romantic pivot as she finds herself falling for Matteo’s cousin, Michael (Rege-Jean Page).
The entire cast of You, Me & Tuscany, maintains a sense of likeability throughout almost the entire hour and forty-five minute runtime. With playful humor and banter peppered in that you would expect to hear at almost any family gathering while the director Kat Coiro leans into the more cheesy romantic cliches at times that will not leave typical fans of the genre wanting. But it balances this with humor, especially in the after credit blooper scenes.
However, You, Me & Tuscany isn’t without its minor hiccups. There are certain audio issues where Regé-Jean Page’s dialogue becomes almost unintelligible. The mixture of thick accents and perhaps a slightly muddy sound mix in a few scenes makes it hard to discern exactly what is being said. Thankfully, these moments are sparse and hardly take away from the grand scheme of the story unfolding.
Overall, You, Me & Tuscany does a great job of capturing what an ideal Italian trip would look like. With everything from the rolling hills to the friendly and welcoming marketplaces and restaurants with bits where one could almost smell the wine and freshly baked breads through the screen. It blends its native culture perfectly with a story worth telling and a cast who portrays their characters wonderfully.
You, Me & Tuscany is a fantastic movie that almost any couple would enjoy seeing together as a fun date night flick that may even inspire an international trip. Check it out in theaters starting Friday, April 10th.
