When In Rome!

So, I saw this cute little film yesterday (Saturday, 1/29/10) and I have to admit I missed the first 5 minutes of it. Missing the set up kind of sucks cause later on some minor characters stepped in with some dialouge and I was left going, "Why do they get lines?" Anywho, let's get some basics out of the way before I really begin.



Title: When In Rome
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Principal Actors: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel
Noteworthy Supporting Actors: Anjelica Huston, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, and Danny DeVito

First off, surprise about Danny DeVito!!! Was *not* expecting him. But that's not really important. What is important, is how cute the movie was! Yes, it is your typical romantic comedy, but it didn't feel sappy. I guess you could say it leaned more heavily on the comedy than the romance. The romance was sweet and believable. The two main characters were, oddly enough, perfect for each other. Neither one was more polished or refined than the other. They were equals, which is nice to see for once.



The second surprise is actually a combined one for me. I was quite pleased with how funny both of the leads were! Duhamel was more of a physical comedian. He relied heavily on traditional slapstick. Kicking a waiters tray and frying the electricity at the wedding, running into poles, falling down holes, even getting hit by a car. His adorable klutziness and fear of lightning offset his intimidating good looks and made him far more likable and approachable for the average woman. So kudos to you Mr. Duhamel!



The second part of that was Ms. Bell. She hit it out of the park! Great comedic timing and wonderful facial expressions combined to give the audience a good chuckle even when there really wasn't anything going on. It wasn't all goofy expressions or cute lines though. Ms. Bell has acting chops. She pulled off the serious scenes very nicely. I can't quite picture her in an Oscar worthy role though. I think she's smart enough that she'll stick with the more marketable roles in films that have the broadest appeal. Can she pull off serious roles? Time will tell on that one, but if I were a betting girl I'd say that she's going to have a long, healthy career and make some big bucks along the way. I look forward to more of her work and can safely say that I'll spend the money to see them in theatres.

So, all in all: cute movie, very good comedy, good acting, sweet. Great for a date. Recommended!