OK people, grab a pencil and paper. Now that I have just seen the latest romantic comedy, When in Rome, I think it is time we go through the usual rom-com checklist:
Successful New York woman who doesn't believe in love? Check.
She meets a super-hot piece of man? Check.
That man is blindly pursuing her because he sees that something special in her, even though she is too career-driven to see it in herself, and he could totally get with plenty of other girls? Double check.
Woman is oddly pursued by a love-starved Danny DeVito? Unfortunately, check again.
Sigh. Yep, it all seems to be there. In this incredibly generic comedy, Beth (Kristen Bell) meets Nick (Josh Duhamel) at the wedding of Beth's sister and Nick's college roommate. Sparks begin to fly, but Beth thinks nothing of it when she sees Nick kissing another woman (who just ends up being an affectionate cousin of the groom) and Beth tipsily takes coins from the Fountain of Love outside the wedding's reception in Rome, Italy.
Turns out when you take someone's coin, they magically fall in love with you, and Beth happened to take five coins home with her to New York as keepsakes. Craziness ensues as men begin to hunt her like a wildebeest throughout the streets of the Big Apple and she tries to get away, only wishing for the attention of Nick.
Plot holes just tear themselves larger and larger as the story goes on. Even though Beth takes these coins in Rome, somehow all five men end up living in New York City so that they are able to chase her around town? Her assistant steals her coins out from under her nose to keep the craziness going, but as soon as Beth realizes they are gone she knows the assistant took them?
Movies with unlikely plots certainly do happen and certainly can work, but this one is beyond the territory of impractical and borders on inane, with awkward come-ons to boot.
This film has come out now to accommodate movie-going lovebirds as Valentine's Day approaches, but couples, do yourself a favor and watch a classic rom-com such as When Harry Met Sally with your beau this February instead. It is much more clever, and you can even get some snuggle action on the couch.
3 Culture
Kelly Kettering
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