After a New York meet-cute with an Italian man, aspiring chef Anna (Halle Bailey) crashes his empty Tuscan villa, pretending to be his fiancée — but soon ends up falling for his cousin (Regé-Jean Page).
The Little Mermaid and Bridgerton’s Duke of Hastings team up in this new romcom, which pairs up two of Hollywood’s hottest young things, Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page, as a couple drawn together against a backdrop of wine, pasta and Tuscan sunshine. An idyllic setting, sure — but You, Me & Tuscany is far from perfect.
We meet Bailey’s Anna in New York. Still grieving her mother and the Italy-based culinary dreams they shared, she’s trying to escape her own chaotic life by living vicariously through other people’s, house-sitting in luxurious abodes. When she meets handsome Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), and hears of his family’s restaurant in Tuscany, she ends up travelling there, letting herself into his vacant villa, and telling his family that she and Matteo are engaged. But as she grows closer to his vineyard-owning cousin Michael (Page), it’s clear she can’t keep up the façade for long.
Fun filmmaking flourishes are let down by a script drowning in cliché.
Bailey is luminous, star quality shining through even the most eye-rolling dialogue. Anna gets by on sheer likeability, and Bailey does the same — she’s funny when she needs to be, and delivers a stirring speech in the final act that is the best thing in the whole movie. Page is as dashing as ever, only showing us cracks of vulnerability beneath that leading-man exterior.
They have decent chemistry; best in the low-key conversations, rather than the prosaic romantic moments. Somewhat disappointingly, though, the thread of them being the only two people of colour in the small Tuscan town is only hinted at and made the subject of jokes, rather than properly interrogated or informing their relationship. The supporting cast bring some much-needed energy, especially Aziza Scott as Anna’s wisecracking bestie, and Stella Pecollo as Matteo’s oversharer sister.
Director Kat Coiro has experience in this arena, after helming 2022’s Jennifer Lopez-starring Marry Me. That same glossy sensibility shows up here, as well as some of the playfulness with form seen in her episodes of Marvel’s She-Hulk. But some fun filmmaking flourishes are let down by a script drowning in cliché, dialogue so stilted it verges on parody. Most of the emotional developments feel undercooked, and the only out-loud laughs come from a blooper reel in the credits with clips solely of bit-part improvisers barely seen in the film. A movie like You, Me & Tuscany obviously doesn’t require kitchen-sink levels of realism, but something this lacking in depth or grounding makes it hard to care about the characters, and whether they get their inevitable happy ending.
Charming performances from Bailey and Page can’t make up for the crushing levels of cringe. More an underwhelming pasta ready-meal than a fine-dining experience.