The modern studio romantic comedy has settled into a frustratingly comfortable place. Attractive actors, an appealing vacation destination, a handful of misunderstandings, and ninety to one hundred minutes later the credits roll. You, Me & Tuscany unfortunately follows that template to painfully dull results without traversing any new ground.
Anna (Halle Bailey), after a night of drinking in New York City, finds herself accepting an offer to stay at an empty Italian villa owned by Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor). Once she arrives, a misunderstanding leaves her posing as Matteo’s fiancée, only for her to unexpectedly develop feelings for his cousin/adoptive brother Michael (Regé-Jean Page). For Anna, who grew up dreaming of cooking in Italy alongside her mother, it’s an opportunity to reinvent her life while discovering romance in one of the world’s most picturesque settings.
It’s exactly the kind of elevator pitch that sounds pleasant enough on paper. To the film’s credit, it never tries to manufacture artificial stakes where none are needed. There’s something refreshing about how fleeting and unself-serious the entire experience is. Not every romantic comedy needs to hinge on saving a business, stopping a wedding, or making some grand declaration in an airport terminal. Sometimes two attractive people wandering around Italy and drinking wine is enough.
The problem is that it isn’t enough here. Director Kat Coiro, returning to familiar territory after Marry Me, once again delivers a film that’s perfectly content coasting on charm and stardom without ever finding much underneath it. That comparison feels appropriate because both movies operate with similarly low stakes, but Marry Me at least had performers bouncing off one another in ways that kept the romance engaging. Here, the story rarely finds that spark.
Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page are both perfectly likable on their own. Bailey continues to be an incredibly empathetic screen presence, making Anna easy to root for even when the script isn’t giving her much to work with. Page remains effortlessly charismatic and underspoken, although I’ve increasingly found him more compelling playing charming antagonists, like he did in Black Bag, than straightforward romantic leads. The issue isn’t either performance individually. It’s that the movie never gives them enough meaningful scenes together to convince you they belong with one another. Chemistry isn’t something you can simply assume because two attractive actors occupy the same frame, and You, Me & Tuscany spends surprisingly little time actually building that relationship.
The supporting cast doesn’t do much to fill that void either. Most of the surrounding characters feel less like people and more like accessories designed to remind you that you’re in Italy. That’s an issue that extends to the film’s broader depiction of the country as well. For a movie that was reportedly shot on location, it often looks strangely artificial, with flat cinematography and sequences that feel like they could’ve just as easily been filmed on sound stages surrounded by green screens.
More frustrating is how surface-level its understanding of Italy feels. The movie comes across like an American’s postcard version of the country, where every conversation is accompanied by wine, every afternoon is spent cooking pasta, and every local exists primarily to reinforce familiar stereotypes. To be fair, if that’s actually all Italians do, it sounds like a pretty fantastic way to live. But it makes for a setting that feels more manufactured than lived in.
That ultimately becomes the film’s biggest problem. There’s simply not much beyond the premise. Once you strip away the picturesque locations and the appeal of watching Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page wander around Tuscany together, there’s very little story left to uncover. The romance never develops enough emotional weight to carry the film, and the narrative seems perfectly satisfied never asking more of itself.
That’s disappointing because I still think Bailey has the potential to become a terrific leading actress. She’s consistently the most empathetic person on screen, even if her recent filmography hasn’t quite matched her talent. Between The Little Mermaid, supporting turns in The Color Purple and The Line, and now this, she’s still waiting for the project that really allows her to break through. Hopefully Jesse Eisenberg’s upcoming The Debut ends up being that opportunity. Page has generally been a bit luckier with his recent choices, but this feels like another role that never quite taps into what makes him such a compelling performer.
READ MORE MOVIE REVIEWS: They Will Kill You, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Wasteman
The bar for modern studio romantic comedies feels disappointingly low at the moment, and You, Me & Tuscany has almost no interest in raising it. It’s pleasant enough in the moment, never offensively bad, and admirably unconcerned with turning every relationship into a life-or-death affair. But pleasant only gets you so far when the romance lacks chemistry, the setting feels strangely artificial, and the story never develops beyond its initial elevator pitch. Sometimes simply existing is enough for a movie like this. I just wish You, Me & Tuscany had aimed a little higher.
Score: 3/10
You, Me & Tuscany (2026)
- Cast: Halle Bailey, Regé-Jean Page, Marco Calvani, Lorenzo de Moor, Aziza Scott
- Director: Kat Coiro
- Genre: Comedy, Romance
- Runtime: 105 minutes
- Rated: PG-13
- Release Date: April 10, 2026
- Movies Like You, Me & Tuscany: People We Meet on Vacation, Anyone But You, Rye Lane, More Movies Like You, Me & Tuscany
- Follow us on Letterboxd
