Review of When in Rome (2002) by Thomas W — 13 Nov 2011

When in Rome is another formulaic rom-com with a rather predictable story starring two attractive Hollywood actors who are still trying to be bigger than they currently are (and they are both trying so very hard).

Both are former television stars who have popped up onscreen in some random pics -- Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) has a pretty devoted fan base and has cashed in on that although she is still unknown to many; Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas) co-starred in the Transformers movies (but has been overshadowed by Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox and the robots themselves) and is married to Fergie .

.. but he, too, is still not a top-tier name. WiR isn't going to change anything for either of these stars. I actually liked the central romance of this story but it becomes muddled with all of the other elements in the film.

Bell flies to Rome for her sister's surprise wedding. Thinking "love" is a sham, Bell plucks a few coins out of the Fountain of Love to "help" those poor souls who actually had wished for love to find them.

Well ... the throwers of those coins find her and all hilarity breaks loose -- or so it is supposed to. I didn't find it overly hilarious and there lies the problem with WiR. Her new suitors -- Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard and Danny DeVito -- are all crazy cooks who would make anybody flee from their presence .

.. let alone swoon over them. While being chased by these, Bell also has embarked on a relationship (with Duhamel) she started while at her sister's wedding but she fears he is also the victim of her coin-snatching.

As a girl with morals and a heart, she cannot keep these men attached to her (although she really-really-really likes Duhamel). Oh ... can't you feel her pain? I do think Bell and Duhamel play nicely off of each other; but that might have only been an illusion because the other four suitors were so terrible.

For some strange reason Angelica Huston has taken the role of cold-bitch-female-boss we see in just about every movie anymore (I mean seriously -- has there ever been a nice female boss in movie history?).

WiR isn't a great film but it has a good pairing. These two do deserve better ... but so did we.