When in Rome is an aggressively bad movie; perhaps one of the most pathetically manic rom-coms ever made. We’re not talking Because I Said So bad, but at least Couples Retreat bad. That this is the current state of the romantic comedy is pretty sad, as Hollywood continues to expel these lazy, uninspired, and insulting films at couples just trying to find a good movie for Valentine’s Day. In the case of When in Rome, the joke is on anyone who walks into the theater.
The immensely flawed premise involves Beth (Bell), a twenty-something attractive blonde who’s the curator at the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan (right). She’s had horrible luck with guys, but meets a nice one, Nick (Duhamel), at her sister’s wedding in Rome. The two hit it off, but Beth loses faith when she witnesses Nick making out with another woman. Frustrated, she picks up and takes home four coins from the so-called “fountain of love” outside of the church. Unbeknownst to her, the coins activate a love spell and soon the coin’s owners (Arnett, Heder, Dax Shepard, and Danny DeVito) are all after her. How convenient that all four of them, plus Nick, are New Yorkers.
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