(2012-04-30 17:39:39)

No Chemistry

I love Kristen Bell and Josh, however, this romantic comedy was "slapstick" style and the characters had no chemistry what so ever.

(2012-04-30 14:38:16)

THE MOST ANNOYING ACTRESS EVER

I DID NOT SEE THIS MOVIE BUT EVERYTIME I GO TO THE MOVIE STOP THE TRAILER IS PLAYING. JUST THE SOUND OF HER GIVESME A HEADACHE. EVERYTIME IT PLAYS I WANT TO LEAVE THE STORE AND HAVE THE EMPLOYEES TELL ME "IT IS SAFE TO COME BACK IN IT IS OVER/ just the scene where she yells to her denitists "why don't you leave me alone i don't know you"and he says "i am your dentists" and she tries to be funny saying "oh and i am flossing twice a day" terrible, awful,whoever thought that awful scene in a trailer would make someone want to see such a bad movie. i am sorrybut just hearing this trailer makes me say this has got to be the worst movie ever. this girl cannot act and themovie but be painful to watch!

StarDragyn

(2012-04-26 15:20:49)

Not Oscar-winning, but funny

Well, you may laugh, you may roll your eyes--you may do bothsimultaneously. Yes, it's a little cheesy; yes, the acting was notbrilliant; yes, some of the gags seemed to repeat themselves. BUT, didI enjoy myself? Absolutely.The humor mostly relies on a lot of physical comedy (people makingblunders and bumping into things...), very little real "wit". I can'tsay even that the dialogue or the chemistry between the main actors wasvery good. But if you already know you're a sucker for romanticcomedies (particularly heavily humor-laden ones, whether brillianthumor or otherwise), you will probably enjoy yourself. If you're thekind that is only rather surprised when you actually do find a romanticcomedy you like, I really don't think you'll be finding it in this one.No need to repeat the plot; the trailer says it all. And, really, withas simple a plot as it has, the trailer truly does pretty much say itALL.In short, it was relaxing and amusing (sometimes not the sort ofamusing the director was going for, perhaps), and I enjoyed getting outof the house to go sit and catch a corny smile. Don't go if yourdemands or expectations are much higher.

kwraikarn

(2012-04-26 08:21:37)

The worst film I've ever seen.

Really. The cast is great, but not in this. Angelica Houston, DannyDevito, Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel... it should have been at the veryleast OK. But it was SO bad. Painfully so. Embarrassingly so. I loveromantic comedies. I watch them almost religiously. I watch almostevery release that can claim, even loosely, to be a romantic comedy. Ilove the silly banter and the eye rolling, I love the predictability -I was very disappointed that Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn'scharacters didn't get together at the end of the Break- Up. I feltcheated. But this film had NO magic, NO chemistry, NOTHING butcringe-worthy slapstick and oh... painful... embarrassing for allinvolved.Avoid at all costs, or watch it, to understand how bad it is.

mfoster12754

(2012-04-24 16:27:42)

Overall pretty stupid

There were a couple of laughs but overall, it was just stupid. JoshDuhamel should have wished to be actually under the spell, because noman would act like such an idiot like he did and we are supposed tobelieve that was real? Oh, no!! surprise he WASN'T under the spell!! itwas real!! ?? Just plain embarrassing to watch. I had to many timesovercome my impulse to hit the "fast forward" button to get past theembarrassment ... oops! I'm not at home! I'm in the theater and Ican't!! too bad. I went to see this because I am a Veronica Mars fanand liked Kristen Bell but after seeing this, I'll think twice beforeplunking down my ten bucks. But, bottom line, I would go hide afterthis if I was Josh Duhamel. I'm sticking to the redbox.

(2012-04-24 15:01:28)

Sweetly Cheesy

When you need a moderately charming, heftily cheesy feel-good movie with a big old heart, check out When in Rome.Moderately charming because the plot is this: Beth (Kristen Bell) heads to Rome to her impulsively in-love sister's speedy wedding. While there, Beth, a fish out-of-water with jet lag, flirts a bit with the best man (Duhamel), then discovers that he might just be like all men, and then responds by drunkenly fishing "love" coins from a fountain and taking them back to New York. The coins call to the men who unloaded the coins in hopes of finding true love, men who are now linked to her via that true love. Enter John Heder, Danny DeVito, Dax Shepard and Will Arnet. While dealing with four admirers and five coins, Beth, also tries to juggle a huge event at the museum, and the fear of the unknown, her feelings, the actions from those feelings and heart of the suspected fifth coin owner.Heftily cheesy: physical humor, besotted men trying to outdo each other in the adoration department, a relationship that moves way too fast to be real and so on.Big old heart. Just like all good sitcoms, this one does get resolved in the time frame....though the time frame got a bit long heading toward closure.Overall decent. Not award winningly good, or must see, but if you are just in that kind of mood. If nothing else you can laugh at the antics for being either honestly amusing or over the top annoyingly ridiculous.

(2012-04-20 07:52:42)

not so grand

This review is from: When In Rome (DVD) This was not so grand.. the only funny part involves a sm car and museum.. otherwsie made for t.v. might be a better choice of film.

Alex

(2012-04-19 16:52:51)

Excellent stuff!

I enjoyed every minute of this movie! I recommend this movie foreveryone out there! It's hilarious and extremely entertaining from theminute you start watching it, and all the way to the end.Kristen Bell is super attractive and plays the role as "Beth" superbly- I mean WOW! She goes all the way from being a detective in "VeronicaMars", to an art curator in this movie. This girl is a pure pleasure towatch on screen, and I would love to see more of her in the future -especially in movies like this, romantic comedies.I love how they put magic (I mean actual real magic) into the wholeconcept. It gives everything kind of a twist, and doesn't make it aboring clichГѓВ© romantic comedy.All in all - Superb movie!

(2012-04-11 06:51:09)

Bridget's Review

My husband and I watched this movie yesterday and it was a pretty cute little romantic comedy. It's one of those totally predictable ones so don't expect surprises if you see it. I would give it three stars.

jaredmobarak

(2012-04-10 19:30:16)

This marriage has a shelf life of a banana … When in Rome

Here is my call to arms people … go visit the Guggenheim Museum anddonate money. After The International last year shooting up Frank LloydWright's architectural wonder, New York City decided to get some morecash influx by allowing it to be showcased in this year's rom-com crazyflick When in Rome. This film is by no means good—at all. However, thatsaid, I laughed a whole lot. Once you leave the plot behind and startto just let the absurd supporting characters wash over you with theireccentricities and obnoxious foibles, you'll find the smile you werelooking for. I did some reconnaissance before my screening and wassurprised by the multiple comments about it being one of the funniestmovies the viewer had ever seen. Now, I know hyperbole when I see it,but I had the glimmer of hope that maybe I'd at least be entertained.While the beginning twenty or so minutes went by in an excruciatinglypainful manner, once Josh Duhamel and magically entranced kooks enteredthe fray, I was able to sit back and have a good time.Where are we, though, in terms of world creativity when this plot getsgreen-lighted? Beth has been spurned her whole life where love isconcerned, instead diving into her work as a crutch disguised as copingmechanism. Once her younger sister finds love and marriage in only twoweeks, she must journey over to Rome for the wedding—while in the midstof a huge exhibit at the museum for which she is curator—to also bekicked by amore once again. This latest effort, at the hands ofDuhamel's Nick, or so she thinks, leads her to pick out five coins fromthe fountain of love, keeping their wishes for everlasting romance inher purse. It is at this point where hilarity begins, ushering in therogues gallery of Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, and Danny DeVitoto fawn over and stalk Beth back to NYC. It is both their desperatelyinsane attempts at wooing and Nick's authentic courting hampered byclumsiness and bad luck that make this film worth watching. Admittedly,I can only watch an actor slapstick his way into light posts or downopenings in the street so many times before becoming bored, butsomething about Duhamel's affable demeanor kept it fresh despite therepetition.The story itself really is atrocious. Just the fact that Romanmysticism and folklore is behind it all makes me roll my eyes, sofeeling any sort of connection to Beth's plight is unattainable. I did,however, really like Kristen Bell in this role, and that says somethingcoming from someone who has never been a big fan. She gives the partmuch more than it deserves and tries her best to let us care for hereven though it is her troubles that we are enjoying. Full of clichésand gimmicks, When in Rome's setups fall flat across the board. Her jobbeing in peril and Anjelica Huston's mean boss are predictable,watching her newlywed sister in Rome cooking naked with her new husbandunoriginal, and the lame attempt at making us think that somehow thetwo romantic leads won't end up together in the end is pandering. Butall the little things in between, the tiny adventures that could havebeen skits on a comic variety show excel on their own, even if theyseem out of place in the story at hand. What can be out of place,though, when your four stalkers are a street magician, a vain modelworking on spec, a wannabe painter, and an older sausage magnate? Witha mix like that, anything goes.Before getting into the big name bit parts, I want to mention a coupleunknowns. Why both leads needed a sidekick with insanely wide-open eyesis beyond me. Kate Micucci is cute as Stacy, but also kind of creepywith that blank stare, while Bobby Moynihan, playing Puck, (a not sosubtle nod to Shakespeare's jester), is pretty darn funny. Using"Roots" as a punchline and really just playing the goof oppositeDuhamel's star-crossed lover, I hope to see more of this guy. Butthat's enough of the newbies; let's get onto the veterans. Each ofthese four suitors is completely two-dimensional, trying their best tobring some laughs while trapped in thankless, cheesy parts. DeVito is atad overzealous going after a girl more than half his age, yet thecompletion of his arc worked for me, although he is the throwaway ofthe group. Arnett's fake Italian schtick gets old, but I can't getenough of that innocent, stupefied look whenever he does somethingwrong; Heder is annoying and strangely humorous in his costume alone,allowing a Napoleon Dynamite guest star be his role's finest hour; andDax Shepard never ceases to amaze in bringing laughs with hischaracters' gigantic egos in everything he does.I'd like to tell director Mark Steven Johnson to stick to comic booksuperhero films, yet that didn't work out too well for him either. Theonly real thing I can fault him for here is the fact that he took onthe project to begin with. There really is nothing original in thescript besides some funny moments that hit hard due to the joke, notits relevance to the plot. Without an extended sequence of dining inthe dark that contained the always-wonderful Kristen Schaal, a clowncar gag that was much funnier than it should have been, and KeirO'Donnell's knack for playing very odd characters, I wouldn't have beenable to find anything redeeming. A few effective parts cannot make upfor the lackluster whole, no matter how hard I did laugh at times. I dothink both Bell and Duhamel have what it takes to make a good romanticcomedy together, knowing how to play the charming, romantic couple.Sadly this isn't quite it.

(2012-03-24 21:17:42)

Fun romantic comedy

This review is from: When in Rome [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) This is just a fun romantic comedy with quite a few belly laughs. The story? Eh. The casting? Mixed. Kristen Bell is adorable. Josh Duhamel is enjoyable. Angelica Huston and Danny DeVito, though excellent actors for their parts, definitely seem over-cast for this movie. The rest of the cast is a hodgepodge of characters who contribute to the storyline but are somewhat distracting on the first viewing, less so on later looks. It all wraps up nicely though. I always throw this disc in the player when I'm home battling a "call in sick" bug and want to give my mind a break. Yeah, it is one of my guilty favorites.

DICK STEEL

(2012-03-24 10:43:00)

A Nutshell Review: When In Rome

I was in Rome some 6 years ago, and similar to Kristen Bell's Beth, gotonly 48 hours in the magnificent city, steeped in history, statues, andsights to just blow your mind away. I remembered tossing a coin intoalmost every fountain that I see, since it's practicallymonkey-see-monkey-do with coins just littered in the waters, thoughnope, no such luck in the amour department since I don't recall tossingone into the fountain depicted in the film. So I don't have suchfictional luck like Beth, to be pursued by a number of suitors allsmitten with her because she happened to pick up some coins placed inthe fountain.A typical romantic comedy, this one has infused some Roman superstitioninto it. Returning to New York from attending her sister's wedding (andcomedy of errors I might add) in the fabled city, she soon findsherself being wooed by a street magician (Jon Heder), a narcissisticmale model with almost the intelligence of Derek Zoolander (DaxShepard), a painter (Will Arnett) and a sausage magnate (Danny DeVito!)who becomes Beth's patron of her museum programme. Each do just aboutthe craziest thing to woo their lady love, because she had happened topick up their coin from the fountain, and they have followed theirvision and calling like the plague.But of course she soon finds out that her one true love happens to bethe best man at her sister's wedding, a pro-footballer turnedjournalist (Josh Duhamel) because of a lightning accident, but isskeptical that his advances are because of a coin she had picked up. Sobegins the did-he-or-didn't-he, and plenty of romantic moments weavedinto the narrative written by David Diamond and David Weissman, whoplays it safe with the usual structure meant to charm and basically tochronicle the number of hoops one has to jump through in order to wooone's lady love.Like a typical romance flick, this one comes with a key message aswell, which is addressing how one will know if one's falling in lovewith someone special. And I think it hit the note, reminding us thatit's when we put someone on the pedestal and they matter more than whatcurrently matters to us most (for Beth, it's her job), then voilГѓВ , wehave struck gold, or rather, Cupid has struck. So unless you see theoutput on this site start to dwindle...I've never quite thought that Kristen Bell would make the romanticleading lady, from films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and CouplesRetreat, but she continues in the genre. Her portrayal of hercharacters continue to be the alpha-female type who is consistentlyunlucky in love, and I'm waiting for her to take on something newoutside of her comfort zone in order to make everyone sit up and takenotice. Until then, Josh Duhamel is someone whom I've watchedtransition from television's Las Vegas series to the biggest summeraction blockbusters like the Transformers movie, and I think it mighttake a while before he branches off from action or romance, or marqueea heavyweight film on his own. The rest of the supporting cast like Anjelica Huston's chief museumcurator (a poor cousin of Meryl Streep's bitchy performance in TheDevil Wears Prada), Danny DeVito, Jon Heder and the rest play ratherone dimensional and breezy roles in this light comedy, also because thelimited runtime doesn't allow for any depth and character development.The real star of the show is of course the limited scenes of therenowned Guggenheim Museum. Last seen on screen in The Internationalwhere it was badly shot up in an extended action sequence, the museumgoes back to showing off its regal presence in being a place and workof art, and puts itself into my books as one of the must-go places if Ihappen to make my way to the Big Apple.The Roman Holiday this is not, but it has enough charming momentsthanks to Rome and the Guggleheim, to make this an average but saferomantic comedy for its intended demographic to head out and enjoy.

(2012-03-18 08:23:26)

Gee Ms. Bell...you're swell !!

I spent Thanksgiving with my niece and her brood, and we watched 'When In Rome' in the evening. What a whacky, lovey-dovey comedy!I found it absolutely delightful.

(2012-03-17 21:43:07)

Lame, Lame and more lame

Silly little predictable movie, I cant even say it was amusing. It was so dumb. I liked all the cast and the acting was fine it was the silly story that was so horrible. Save your money folks and watch a Gilligans Island rerun.

(2012-03-17 14:23:50)

Good for Tweens & gurls...

Ok, so I really would not have watched this again but my two "younger" girls really do love it. It's silly & to the "younger" crowd entertaining. I'm sorry to not mention their specific ages because I just don't put that online for the masses, but I can let them watch it & they enjoy a mild love story w/out getting too smoochy & visual. They both LOVE weddings & dressing up so I think that's what really catches their attention. I also think it's the unrealistic misshaps that she experiences (like her heel breaking & the vase NOT breaking) But as a warning the "illusionist" does a trick that w/out a parent there to point out it's a prop & not real-could freak a kid out. Also, the scene with her sister that just got married & her new husband cooking w "just" aprons is in there, but they are behind a counter and covered so my kids have not noticed they do not have clothes on, in fact I didn't realize that until we watched it the second time. I know I'm not giving a detailed "movie critics" review but just a moms point of view of a movie my kids think is funny & they keep asking to watch (it is a nice break from Sponge Bob!-I'm not saying better than SB but a break from). So as an adult that only has limited time to watch a movie, I say skip it-find something better, but if you have a house full of girls it can be fun.....

(2012-03-17 08:46:19)

When in New York!!

All those expecting to see a sweet romantic movie based in beautiful Italy (Rome in this case) will be highly dissapointed and I suggest you pick up the DVD of 'Only you' or the recent 'Letters to Juliet' instead. The stock shots of Rome and a few scenes in Rome last for maximum of 15 minutes. The rest of this ridiculous story takes place in New York. So we have Magic coins making people fall in love with total strangers, thunder, lightening, irritating supporting cast and a song and dance finale probably inspired by 'Slumdog Millionaire'.The acting, story and direction are below average.So why the one star..well that's for some truly beautiful shots of New York.

lemangum80

(2012-03-16 09:14:41)

I liked it but.....

What was up with Josh Duhammel?? I normally am captivated by hisperformances, but he seemed like he was on another planet the wholemovie and that Kristen Bell was trying to deal with his bad acting.Overall, I liked the movie...but he could've done about 5 times betterif he had really tried. Cheat on Fergie = too much distraction???? Imjust saying. I loved Angelica Houston and Danny Devito. Even Dax andArchie were hilarious. Dude, Pedro made me laugh out loud!!! Where haveyou been Pedro? It was a little stale at times but overall entertainingand kept my attention. Not many actresses could've kept up that rolethe whole movie as Kristen did. Even with her annoying sister (who Icant stand on Entourage). Do better next time Josh, you are too hot!

(2012-03-15 21:23:58)

Embarressingly Bad!

As I have admitted in other reviews, chick flicks are hardly my cup of tea, and as usual get suckered into watching them by women in my life, in this case my girlfriend. While channel surfing last night we come upon this little ditty just as it's starting (yeah for me...) and I get the proverbial, "we always watch what you want to watch, can we watch this???" Now normally, being an avid reader, I would just go in the bedroom and read, but she gets insulted when I do that since she sits through "my movies." So, against my better judgment I relented, and let's just say, it ended up working in my favor, but more about that in a minute...Words escape me trying to describe how bad this movie is. If I painted you a visual picture, of someone taking an ice pick and repeatedly jabbing it in their eye sockets leaving nothing but bloody holes, I'm not sure if that would even convey my hatred of this movie. How do movies like this get made, do they think so little of women in Hollywood that they will eat up garbage like this without question (I'll leave that for the female readers of my review to answer)? This movie wasn't cute, it wasn't funny, it wasn't romantic, it wasn't well acted, it wasn't well written, and it certainly wasn't well directed. This movie has not a single redeeming feature. The two leads have zero chemistry, and I can't recall seeing either of them in anything other than this dreck, which is probably just as well since neither of them were memorable in the least. The other actors were equally as forgettable, but I was astonished to see Danny Devito slumming in this thing. "Danny, did you owe the director/producer a huge favor, was someone involved in the making of this waste of celluloid a family member, why, why, would an actor of your stature and accomplishments lend your name and time to this disaster?"Really, I hated this movie so much, I don't feel like discussing the plot, or specifics as that would bring back painful memories. It wasn't even enough the movie was horrible, as the "actors" continued to embarrass themselves when the credits started rolling with a ridiculous dance number. The lead actress started doing the cabbage patch which was completely out of place to the music playing. Hey, if you're going to embarrass yourself why not go all the way, right?! Even my girlfriend hated this thing, and that brings me around to the bit about watching this film working in my favor, yeah, she owes me, big! I have not yet thought up a suitable enough reward, but I'm open to any and all suggestions, so send them my way.

CHRISTINA

(2012-03-11 15:09:49)

really cute but rent it

This movie was really cute in a "its friday night and i need to just forget my week for a little bit". I laughed through out the movie and at times was like ok this is a little much but even then i still had a smirk. He is hot in a holy mamamia kinda way and she is so cute and petite. Their onscreen chemistry was really good and they made the movie worth watching. I only say rent it cause movies are spendy and its not a blockbuster but worth seeing.

(2012-03-11 06:04:06)

check it out if you like screwball comedy or at least for Kristen Bell

This review is from: When in Rome [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Great movie if you like screwball romantic comedy. If your sense of humor is too narrow to go for screwball-type comedy then maybe you won't get it, but hey, it still has Kristen Bell at least. Although not really exactly like the old Grant/Hepburn Bringing up Baby, it is a bit of wacky, screwball sort of romantic comedy along those lines in the most general sense. Everyone in it does a great job, especially Kristen Bell. Funny, wacky and sweet. 4.5