Great rom-com idea, prissy Veronica Mars actress ignites no chemistry with handsome Josh Duhamel ** 2 Stars

By Robin Rowe

When in Rome, why Duhamel loves Veronica Mars a mystery

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 6/25/2010 – “There’s a lot of chasing, a lot of running in heels,” says When in Rome star Kristen Bell. That’s true. She spends most of the movie running away from the fantastically good looking Transformers star Josh Duhamel.

After drinking too much at her sister’s wedding in Rome, and feeling frustrated by her lack of success dating, Bell’s character wades into the Fountain of Love and steals five coins. This magically makes the guys who tossed those coins in the fountain fall in L-O-V-E with her. Hey, if you’re a lonely single girl, why wouldn’t that be nice?

The coin tossers are Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Danny Devito, and Josh Duhamel. And what tossers they turn out to be. Beth is soon desperate to break the spell to get away from these jerks.

Sometimes it’s not enough to have a great movie premise and talented actors. A rom-com is a delicate soufflé that falls flat when the actors are miscast or misdirected.

“I’m a guy, and I’m not a big romantic-comedy guy,” says When in Rome director Mark Steven Johnson. “We had fun with this film, blowing out a lot of the conventions of a traditional romantic comedy.” The director was apparently having too much fun while making this movie, was not prepared for the subtlety of rom-com direction by his prior films: Ghost Rider, Electra and Dare Devil.

Casting Kristen Bell as the love interest of Josh Duhamel is a tall order. Duhamel may be the most attractive leading man in film today. If we’re to toss casting caution to the wind, let’s make his love interest Sarah Silverman. At least then we can rationalize that he loves her because she’s so damn funny.

Because Duhamel’s so pretty, the natural question becomes why doesn’t Bell’s character throw herself at him when she gets the chance? And, why would Duhamel give such a boring stick in the mud a second look?

When in Rome producer Andrew Panay, who also was a producer on Wedding Crashers, offers a surprising suggestion. “The unexpectedly awkward quality that Duhamel brought to the character made him that much funnier and more endearing”, says Panay. Not hardly. Give us Seth Rogen or Jack Black as anti-heroes. The girls, and guys too, came to see Duhamel be sexy and strong. Seeing Duhamel play the dweeb is disappointing.

The writers of When in Rome are David Diamond and David Weissman, who previously wrote Old Dogs. That film was also produced by Panay.

When in Rome feels like a Lifetime TV movie. Except that’s not fair to Lifetime. Double Wedding, Lifetime’s movie that we reviewed last week, is a much better rom-com.

Because the premise is fun, and Duhamel is so naturally charming, we want desperately for When in Rome to work. Sommes, formula is best.

The rom-com is the least forgiving film structure when it comes to breaking the rules. You can break one rule, but not all of them. Anyone who loves a good rom-com will be frustrated that the rules here are not merely broken, but ignored entirely.

If you’re going to break the rules with abandon, make it something fresh. What does that mean, you ask? What if one of those magic coins had been a woman’s? Would Bell’s character be receptive to a beautiful determined lesbian? It’s not obvious that Bell’s character in this movie isn’t a lesbian, so that’s hardly a reach.

What if the girl chasing Bell was Duhamel’s previously straight fiance? That could be funny.