Alright, all you romantics and anti-romantics, finally here’s a movie you can both like. That’s right! There’s dialog, behavior, and story lines that’ll tug at the soft, cushy side of your heart (for that romantic inside of you), but there’s also the cold, European, specifically Italian, sarcastic and cynical side of romance that would make an Anti-Valentine’s Day club president smirk.
In this story, which reveals the main plot in the trailer, a middle-aged art teacher named Matt Taylor (Kevin James, King of Queens) gets jilted at the altar. And it wasn’t just any altar. It’s at a beautiful (most likely historic) church in Rome. It’s as awkward as it gets, as the groom is waiting, and waiting, and finally walks down the aisle to look out the open doors of the church to find that she’s gone.
The pain and denial comes as expected, but then a couple of very annoying and boundary-less people step in with those so-called “best intentions” of helping this guy get over his love loss.
In the first stage, he actually gets out of his honeymoon suite hotel room and rides one of the package deals he had bought – riding tandem bicycles through the streets of Rome.
Then the pair of annoying boundary-less people press the issue. One of the two boundary-less baffoons is none other than Jonathan Roumie. Yes, that Jonathan Roumie (Jesus in The Chosen). The other annoying dude is played by the wild-eyed Kim Coates. Together they pester the heartbroken Matt Taylor until he goes out with them in the goal of “getting over it.”
There’s a night of way too much drinking where Matt leaves the bar after closing with a clingy Italian maiden named Claudia. There’s the teasing between all the guys. There’s a very friendly cafe owner that looks early on like a potential love interest if he so decided to move on that fast.
The big shock and pleasant surprise for those of us that are Chosen fans (and who isn’t? If you haven’t watched it, catch up!). Roumie proves to be a great actor that is not permanently typecast as the Messiah. Admittingly, it is hard to get past that, but he plays a fun character that helps.
With scenes in Tuscany and a cameo by a world-famous musician, there are just so many spectacular panoramic and beautiful scenes. It’s a great film to watch and there’s plenty of quirky anecdotes and details with all these characters.
So, the romantics probably edge out the anti-Valentines crowd, but the cynicism played out on the screen really makes it fun and hard to believe in love for a moment or two (if that were possible).
Kudos to Angel Studios for delivering another world class film to theaters and streaming platforms. We’ve come along way since the ’70s Billy Graham Films (Time to Run, The Prodigal) and that Left Behind series that caught on a couple of decades ago.
If the trailer doesn’t make you want to watch it, c’mon!
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