What Do The Critics Say?
"We all know the clichés these romantic comedies have now and days, but "When in Rome" is the exception in a few ways. Josh Duhamel proved once again to be perfect for any romantic film with his dashing good looks and charm that is displayed naturally. I’m not saying it is the best romantic comedy of all time, but it took an original approach and was very entertaining. Leap into to love with both feet and see what happens."
Jolene Mendez ENTERTAINMENT SPECTRUM
"When in Rome needs every ounce of its leads' twinkly appeal to keep us engaged. "When in Rome" skips straight to the supernatural to set its fizzy story in motion. That doesn’t mean 'Rome' is a rom-com of the first order. But the film’s no-nonsense approach is as refreshing as its attractive leads."
Christian Toto WHAT WOULD TOTO WATCH?
"A silly, preposterous romantic comedy that benefits from Josh Duhamel's self-assured likeability, which helps a thin script that relies on pratfalls not brain power."
Bruce Bennett SPECTRUM
"Bell, unlike Katherine Heigl and Sandra Bullock, who executive-produced their big-screen debasements of 2009, brings enough effervescence to the film that she's able to spark believable chemistry with a usual dud like Josh Duhamel."
Melissa Anderson VILLAGE VOICE
"Sweet, romantic and genuine, When in Rome, which features a consistently charming Kristen Bell, is certainly fluff, but it is very entertaining and enjoyable. The story ends predictably but satisfyingly. The ending also contains one of the film's funniest sight gags, which involves a tiny car. Yep, you've seen this before too, but, as you're laughing hard, you probably won't mind."
Steve Rhodes INTERNET REVIEWS
"Oh! The sublimity! Oh! The wit! Oh! The romance! Oh, Kristen Bell, you are my new hero! It's sort of totally cool how Kristen doesn't call the cops when Will Arnett is chasing her through Central Park or Napoleon Dynamite breaks into her apartment. Because we girls know that stalking really is how men show their affection!
MaryAnn Johanson FLICK FILOSOPHER
"People say the romantic comedy is dead. The romantic comedy hasn't died; it's just evolved into something steadily lesser. On this simple, sheeplike level, the thoroughly average When in Rome qualifies as almost a complete success, except in its requirement that we go along with some business involving hocus pocus."
Mary F. Pols MSN MOVIES
"For the most part, Bell fits in the romantic comedy formula. Likewise, her romantic foil Josh Duhamel is likeable on screen. The best comedy moments come from the wacky stalkers. This will gnaw at many a critic, but the estrogen-infused target audience will eat both actors up."
Kevin Carr 7M PICTURES
"Though not as ultra-clichéd as its title, When in Rome follows the predictable conventions of the genre. There's a higher-than-average dose of chemistry between the affable and attractive leads, Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. Their likability is the only reason to watch the movie."
Claudia Puig USA TODAY
"When in Rome, despite being a standard-order romantic comedy with little about it that could be considered fresh or original, finally provides Bell the opportunity to exude a little of that Veronica Mars charm on the big screen. It is neither deep nor intelligent, but it's not intended to be either. The saving grace of the otherwise generic product is that Bell's vivacity and Duhamel's rakish charm allow the viewer to root for them."
James Berardinelli REELREVIEWS
The Inside Story on When In Rome
For director Mark Steven Johnson, who is best known for comic book adaptations like "Daredevil" and "Ghost Rider", a comedy like "When In Rome" is a bit of a departure. In this movie, jokes the director, "no one’s head explodes," but the film is a return to Johnson’s roots. "Comedy is where I started: writing "Grumpy Old Men"; and I really wanted to get back to it." Johnson, along with producer Gary Foster, recognized the comedy potential of "When In Rome". "I’m a guy, and I’m not a big romantic-comedy guy," says the director. "I wanted to make a comedy with romance, versus a 'romantic comedy'. I wanted to make a comedy that was really funny that also had a big heart to it. We had fun with this film, blowing out a lot of the conventions of a traditional romantic comedy." Producer Andrew Panay came to the project with comedies like "Wedding Crashers" and "Old Dogs" under his belt; he helped bring that signature sense of humor to this film. "We have a very strong male perspective and a strong female perspective, and you meld it together and get something for everybody," says Panay. For the film’s leading lady, the filmmakers called on 2006 Family Film Award winnerKristen Bell. "Kristen is incredible, an amazing actor," says Johnson. "I have never worked with anyone like her. I really felt like you could build a whole movie around this girl, and it was really exciting." Bell portrays Beth, a young curator at the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan. "Beth is a gallerina," says Bell, "which is a term I’ve learned for young women who run any sort of gallery. It’s sort of a high-pressure job, which is why she’s always so frazzled." And her life is about to get even more frazzled, thanks to a wedding, some champagne and a few magic coins, says Bell. "My character goes to her sister’s wedding in Rome and has one too many glasses of champagne. She ends up wading through a fountain, gathering coins." What she doesn’t know is that the coins belong to people who’ve wished for love, and are now magically inclined to pursue the woman who holds their coins. "When she gets home, these suitors start to come after her. They’re madly in love. There’s a lot of chasing, a lot of running in heels." "I just wanted to surround Kristen with the funniest people I could," says Johnson. "The script was originally written with Kristen as more of the straight man, reacting to all these funny guys, but she’s so funny I kept giving her more to do—more physical comedy: because she really has the ability in a way I haven’t seen in a long time." Josh Duhamel was tapped as Beth’s leading man, Nick, whom she meets at the wedding, finds an instant connection, then later fears he’s under the same spell as the rest of her pursuers. "I would say Nick and Beth have the same outlook on life," says Duhamel. "Both of them are very driven in their given professions and neither is really looking for love. It’s one of those things, I guess, you usually find it when you’re not looking." The unexpectedly awkward quality that Duhamel brought to the character made him that much funnier and more endearing, says producer Panay. "One of Josh’s greatest gifts is his ability to be physically funny. He was a college quarterback in real life, so he’s very coordinated. But to watch him scramble, fall and run into things: it’s absolutely, incredibly funny. And he’s so natural." Producer Gary Foster ("Sleepless in Seattle") adds, "Josh is from South Dakota, and he has just got this very authentic way about him. He’s really kind of ‘aw shucks.’ He works really hard. He’s a very competitive guy, a former athlete, and that drive is still there." The team turned to top comic performers to cast the zany suitors who give Nick a run for his money. 1980 Golden Globe winner Danny DeVito ("Taxi"); 2004 Future Classic Award winner Will Arnett; dual 2005 MTV Movie Award winner Jon Heder along with Dax Shepard ("Zathura: A Space Adventure"), were called on to pursue Bell’s character with a little more zest than the average love story.
"It was almost too much of a good time," says Bell. "I sometimes could not stop laughing on set because they’re all so funny." Danny DeVito portrays Al, a successful sausage magnate who calls on Bell’s character for private tours of the museum. "He’s one of the funniest guys ever," says Foster. "He’s a smart, great filmmaker: not only for his acting prowess but because he is also a master of directing comedy. He was great about sharing ideas and stories." Portraying the 'Italian' painter Antonio is "Arrested Development" star Will Arnett. "The film had such a great ensemble vibe, and I’m friends with a lot of people in the cast already. So being able to come and work with those guys, go to Rome and have that experience is kind of like going to movie camp." Jon Heder, who starred in "Blades of Glory" with Arnett, portrays Lance, whom he calls "a creepy street magician. I think that’s what I liked most. Street magicians are creepy." Dax Shepard, who plays aspiring male model Gale, agreed. "Arnett and I had a blast. We only had a couple of scenes together, but we did everything in our power to steal those scenes from one another." Shepard ("Baby Mama") found interesting comic material in the narcissistic Gale: "I don’t fancy myself very attractive, so I thought it would be the ultimate challenge to play a guy in a movie who’s supposed to be a model, and never got there with his face so he relied on working out a lot and dieting: extreme dieting." To pull it off, Shepard actually had to commit to a diet with the same zeal as the delusional Gale. "I don’t think genetically I’m supposed to look like that. My next role is going to be the owner of a donut shop, I think." The filmmakers turned to 1986 Oscar winner Anjelica Huston (Best Supporting Actress for "Prizzi's Honor") for the role of Beth’s intimidating Guggenheim Museum boss, Celeste. "I really wanted Anjelica badly," says Johnson. "I thought she would give it some weight. We needed someone who seemed like she would really be a threat to Beth: Anjelica is so strong, she’s such a great actress and such a lovely person, too." Alexis Dziena ("Strangers with Candy" & "Broken Flowers") portrays Beth’s sister Joan, who decides rather suddenly to get married in Rome to an Italian guy she’s known for only a few weeks. 1971 Golden Globe winner Peggy Lipton (TV'S "The Mod Squad") portrays Beth’s mother. Bobby Moynihan ("The Invention Of Lying") who appeared in 42 episodes of "Saturday Night Live" between 2008 and 2010, was called on to play Nick's best friend, Puck. Kate Micucci ("The Last Hurrah") was cast as Beth’s personal assistant, Stacy. Italian star Luca Calvani ("The International") portrays Joan’s groom Umberto. "Everyone knew there was something kind of special going on," says Johnson, who wrote and directed "Simon Birch" (1998). "The whole cast added so much to the film and everyone would improvise: but they always did so within the constraints of the scene; nobody would just go off: that can sometimes be a danger when you have so many funny people competing for laughs. They were all really good about serving the story with their improvisation." "Mark allows the talent to do what they do best," says Foster ("The Score"). "He has this great way about him. People trust him, they want to support him, and they want to do well for him. He allows them to play and do their craft." With a Guggenheim curator, a painter, and the city of Rome all central to the story, "When In Rome" was a huge assignment for production designer Kirk Petruccelli ("Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer"). "This whole film is based on art: we get it in every way imaginable," he says. "We’ve gone from all the classics in Italy to the classics from great American artists,everything that goes on in the art world."
One of the biggest art elements of the film is the world-famous Guggenheim Museum. "I did feel that the Guggenheim was a real character in the movie. It’s an incredibly romantic place, a really special building, and there’s nothing else like it," Johnson said. "Using a museum like the Guggenheim as a film location and an integral part of the story is not an easy prospect, I went the extra mile to make it work." Luckily, the Guggenheim was an enthusiastic partner. "We loved the idea," says it’s managing director, Karen Meyerhoff. "There are a lot of things that were authentic about the script." Meyerhoff says her team thought the script captured how passionate curators are about their jobs. "One of my favorite scenes is a scene in which Beth the curator brings Nick into the museum at night, which is one of the things that is wonderful about working in museums. And she takes him to the galleries to show him one of her favorite pictures in the collection which is a portrait. She tells him the story about the woman in the portrait: Marie-Therese Walter; who, as a young girl of seventeen, had a clandestine relationship with the artist, Picasso. And she tells him that because it was a secret relationship the artist put the girl’s initials into some of his paintings, hiding it. That’s all true. Not only is the scene authentic, because we often do bring our close friends into the museum at night, but also the story is real. It’s a wonderful moment." The schedule at the Guggenheim covered the opening scenes of the film as well as the Circle of Gold gala, taking advantage of the famous first-floor atrium area and the ramp at the Guggenheim, plus other scenes that required the creation of Guggenheim offices and the Tannhauser Gallery on a sound stage in Brooklyn. "Our galleries were re-created," says Meyerhoff, "and they re-created some of the masterworks in our collection: fake Gauguins and Picassos." The scenic painters in the art department painted reproductions of many different paintings, from Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Seurat, Monet and Manet, to more cubist abstracts like Picasso’s 'Woman with Yellow Hair', feature in a night scene with Beth and Nick. The art department did more classical Italian paintings for the Roman palazzo where Joan has her wedding. The scenes were actually done in New York at the Surrogate’s Court Building on Chambers Street. Filmmakers hit Soho, including the Blackout on Bleecker restaurant for the scene in which Nick and Beth have a dinner date in the dark, and the bar Pravda, which kicks off Nick’s lightning-threatened journey uptown. Lance stalks Beth in a souvenir shop in Little Italy. In addition, filmmakers used Bond Street for Nick’s loft, locations on the Upper West Side for Beth’s apartment, Upper East Side for the mural location and scenes near the Guggenheim, and Tribeca for the restaurant where Beth meets Gale, as well as City Hall Park and Surrogate’s Court building. While most of the film takes place in New York, the soul of it is really Rome. The first order of business in Rome was to find the location for one of the film’s other stars, Venus, the goddess of love in the Fontana D’Amore. They needed a square with ample space and scope; architectural and visual interest, but without anything installed in its center, because the fountain had to be built. Historically, Roman fountains always required the approval of the Vatican. And since Venus is a pagan goddess, she would never have been allowed to be built in a Roman square. The filmmakers were thrilled to secure the Piazza della Maddalena and its Maddalena Church for the film’s church ceremonies. An eighty three year old veteran of Italian cinema sculptured the film’s fictional Fontana D’Amore. Gianni Gianese, who did his first film in 1955, worked on films for legendary director Federico Fellini ("Ginger and Fred"), Luchino Visconti ("Joseph and His Brethren") and Martin Scorsese ("Gangs Of New York"). He was not thrilled about having to clothe his Venus. "Every Venus that has ever been made was nude," he said.
What's It All About?
 Beth is an ambitious young New Yorker who is disillusioned with romance. She's an event organizer in the midst of a major exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum when her sister Joan announces she's marrying an Italian man she's only known for two weeks. With her boss Celeste's warning, that nothing must interfere with the exhibition ringing in her ears, Beth makes a whirlwind trip to Rome arriving just in the nick of time. Later when Beth is called upon to make a speech, she runs into trouble: she doesn't speak Italian. Help comes in the form of tall, handsome, best man, Nick. They hit it off, until later when a tipsy Beth spots Nick in the square outside the church, kissing another woman near a fountain. Taking off her shoes, she wades in the fountain, venting her disappointment. When she sees there are coins in the water, she defiantly takes five of them. Back in New York, she finds herself pursued by four 'suitors'. But when Nick pursues her with equal zest, she’s not sure if it's the real thing. Five coins. Five suitors.
The Verdict
"It should have been the ideal vehicle for promoting Kristen Bell, but a weak, insipid, opening act, makes it hard for this wreck to recover, despite some late panel beating from an enthusiastic cast. It's a shame, because "When In Rome" could have been a very entertaining rom/com. That opening act certainly leaves a bad taste in ones mouth, so despite all the mouthwash that follows, the freshness of the final two acts is overpowered by lingering memories of what preceeded them. The blame for "When In Rome" lies firmly fairly and squarely with director Mark Steven Johnson, who must step up to the plate and shoulder responsibilty for his early lack of vision and, more importantly, control. Johnson should have seen the writing on the wall and suggested that writers David Diamond & David Weissman ("Old Dogs" & "Evolution") might like to tweak the storyline of "When In Rome". By films end I had been nearly won back, but I still felt disappointed. 2 1/2 STARS."
The Production Team
Director
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Original Music
D.O.P
Film Editors
Casting
Production Design
Art Direction by
Set Decoration
Costume Design
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Mark Steven Johnson
David Diamond & David Weissman
Rikki Lea Bestall/Gary Foster/Mark Steven Johnson/Andrew Panay
Christopher Young
John Bailey
Ryan Folsey & Andrew Marcus
Kathleen Chopin
Kirk M. Petruccelli
John Kasarda & Stefano Maria Ortolani
Diane Lederman
Sarah Edwards
Who Is Playing Who?
Kristen Bell
Josh Duhamel
Anjelica Huston
Will Arnett
Jon Heder
Dax Shepard
Danny DeVito
Alexis Dziena
Kate Micucci
Peggy Lipton
Luca Calvani
Keir O'Donnell
Bobby Moynihan
Kristen Schaal
Judith Malina
Lee Pace
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Beth
Nick
Celeste
Antonio
Lance
Gale
Al
Joan
Stacy
Priscilla
Umberto
Father Dino
Puck
Ilona
Umberto's Grandma
Brady Sacks
Run Time 92 minutes
Rated PG [AUST]
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