You, Me & Tuscany Review: Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page Cook Up a Charming Rom-Com Throwback

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Nearly every year there's a discussion about the the resurrection of the romantic comedy, a genre that dominated every decade of film until the 2010s. Since then, the genre has received less support from Hollywood and struggled to find its place in the current cinematic landscape of big budgets and ingrained IP. It's a shame because there have been romantic comedies of the last few years (Palm Springs and Anyone But You spring to mind) that have shown why the genre is so cozy and fun.

You, Me & Tuscany is another bright spot in the rom-com genre, shockingly more so for the fact that it's a wholly original idea heavily inspired by '90s rom-coms like Only You (1994) and While You Were Sleeping (1995). Stars Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page whip up something sweetly delicious for a story that find the magic in romance, while emphasizing the need for community and home during troubling times.

Anna (Bailey) is a house-sitter struggling to find her way in the wake of her mom's death. After having a romantic night with an Italian stranger named Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor) she decides to take the leap and travel to Tuscany with an old airline ticket and $500 in her pocket. Due to a mix-up, Anna has no place to stay and decides to go to Matteo's villa, believing it to be empty. But when Matteo's family drops in and finds Anna they believe she is his fiancee. A series of lies starts to build, complicated further by Anna's growing attraction to Matteo's cousin, Michael (Page).

What screenwriter Ryan Engle does so well with You, Me & Tuscany is go all in on a premise that would just as easily work in 2026 as it would 1996 to 1946: the high concept premise of a young woman who travels to a foreign locale and, through shenanigans, is welcomed into a family as a future bride. There's just enough story to make everything plausible and, what's funnier, is that thinking about the story more doesn't make the house of cards collapse. Anna is a woman desperate to live any life but her own, right down to housesitting for a wealthy woman (Nia Vardalos) in the opening scene, wearing her clothes, and walking her dog. In the landscape of today, Anna is every person who wakes up wishing life was better.

Unlike The Little Mermaid, a role constrained by pre-existing material, Bailey seems more comfortable here, giving a performance that you could easily see Jennifer Lopez playing 20 years prior. She's a typical rom-com train wreck, a young woman adrift after dropping out of culinary school after her mom got sick. She's messy, but not so messy as to make terrible decisions. She's propped up by her best friend Claire (Aziza Scott), who offers sassy pep talks and is willing to offer help when needed. But, really, Anna is impulsive. And it's that impulsivity that skirts the line between charming and stupid.

Bailey is like a ray of sunshine in every scene she's in. She makes the audience see the true wonder of the Italian landscapes she inhabits. And swathed in Massimo Cantini Parrini's exquisite dresses also makes Anna so different from everyone else. She has an inner elegance to her that's so natural, and it's set free in San Conessa.

Anna soon arrives in San Conessa, a small-t0wn that seems ripped from the "provincial town" Belle sang about in Beauty & the Beast. It's a town where everyone soon knows her by name and all are big on traditions like the Rolling of the [Wine] Barrels. Cinematographer Danny Ruhlmann gives everything a lush patina, as if everything is kissed in perpetual sunset. Anna's villa would make Nancy Meyers blush with its rustic elegance. The Costas, Matteo's family, are clearly Italian wealthy, driving expensive cars and owning their own restaurant.

There's a real wish fulfillment to You, Me & Tuscany, spoken numerous times by Anna herself about how much of a "fairy tale" everything is. Part of Anna's desire to live is to live well. She dreams of an "in-unit washer and dryer" but the Costas offer her something more: generational wealth. She dreams of a place where money is really no object but, then again, no one in San Conessa really seems to worry about it. There's no poverty and only one stray reference to Anna and Michael being the lone Black people in town.

And yet everyone assembles know it is this same simplicity of storytelling that makes the romantic comedy work. The humor, beauty, and romance is what keeps You, Me & Tuscany so buoyant and enjoyable. The Costas immediately embrace Anna as their future family member, and part of the film's joy is watching Anna finally relax into a family, a community, and a place of belonging. It's also where the romance ramps up between Anna and Michael.

Page is playing a similar character as his role on Bridgerton. He's a cocky and smug vineyard owner (Bailey's line delivery implies she knows that sounds corny as hell), holding an inner sense of responsibility after losing both parents at a young age. Where Matteo is good-natured, yet selfish, Michael is devoted but a tad boring. When Bailey is inserted into the scene, Page flowers a bit more. The two have chemistry, but it's Bailey who is the prime mover. Page comes alive a bit more during a moment where he has to sing a Mario song. He's looser and fun. But when that same scene is recreated via Bailey it's dynamite.

You, Me & Tuscany is a deliciously charming throwback and a new step forward for the romantic comedy genre. It's also a showcase for Bailey, who'd do well to do several more of these movies as her affection and personality work so well with something frothy like this. Prepare to fall in love with life, with love, and the beauty of possibility which, can't we all use far more of that in the world right now?

Grade: C+

You, Me & Tuscany hits theaters Friday.

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