Tom Long Film Review: 'When in Rome' -- GRADE: C

Review: 'When in Rome' a forgettable journey

Tom Long / Detroit News Film Critic

A brainless, fizzy, romantic-comedy fairy tale with a roster of acting talent far beyond expectations, "When in Rome" manages to almost charm at times despite its silly premise and clunky execution.

What charm it does manage can be attributed to star Kristen Bell, who deserves a movie way better than this one, and her supporting cast -- Josh Duhamel, Danny DeVito, Will Arnett, Jon Heder and Dax Shepard.

Bell (a native Detroiter, as is Shepard), still best known for her TV show "Veronica Mars," has the sort of light comic touch it takes to pull off a story as preposterous as this one, an ability to balance romance with physical shtick and just a touch of cynicism.

But the tide is working against her here. Director Mark Steven Johnson ("Ghostrider," "Daredevil") has no sense of tone or rhythm -- the opening moments of this film may constitute the worst music and image sequence ever -- and writers David Diamond and David Weissman ("Old Dogs") repeatedly undercut comic moments with too-sentimental pap.

Bell plays Beth, a hard-working, high-achieving single woman who flies to Rome for the wedding of her sister (Alexis Dziena) and falls for a charming fellow named Nick there (Duhamel) but ends up feeling spurned. So she wades into a fountain, picks up four coins tossed into the water, and takes them home.

This inexplicable act causes four single men to fall hopelessly in love with her and travel to New York City to stalk her, one of those men apparently being Nick. Hijinks ensue.

But the script can go from mildly humorous to dull in a second, and there's never any serious spark of passion. Bell and Duhamel are relaxed and funny, but they don't seem in love.

The comedy is occasionally adequate, the romance never convincing. Ms. Bell deserves better. So do audiences.