The Internet is determined to not let a week go by without debating whether more rom-coms should be made. Today, we got a taste of a unique offering that pairs two genuine stars. If you’ve ever been one of those people on the web arguing that we just don’t make rom-coms anymore, you better be in line for a ticket when You, Me & Tuscany premieres next year. This frothy little take on the genre stars Halle Bailey and Rege-Jean Page as two people thrust together by chance? (Or, is it fate?)
Anna (Bailey) decides that squatting in an old abandoned Tuscan villa is a perfectly normal course of action. No judgement here. But, things get complicated when Michael (Page) enters the picture as a member of the household their unannounced guest is squatting in. But, let’s be honest folks, even with that set-up, we’ve got all the ingredients there.
Traditional romantic comedies usually consist of charming actors bouncing off of each other in an interesting locale. Add in the strange, but at least partially believable, inciting incident, and we’re off to the races.
We don’t even need to mention the fact that Page has extended experience being a grumpy love interest. A lot of us are still thinking about Seasons 1 and 2 of Bridgerton constantly, because of all it did for the romance genre. You, Me & Tuscany is playing in a similar garden as far as easy to fall in love with as narratives go. Bailey’s now refined princess charm will be a hoot to see play in the Amalfi Coast.
You, Me & Tuscany points to the state of rom-coms
A lot of different voices have tried to explain the lack of rom-coms during the previous decade. The 2010s contained a bunch of romance movies. As you would expect for period of 10 years. But, audiences felt like the romantic comedy genre wasn’t sitting as high in the water as it used to be. During a recent appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Reese Witherspoon gave her read. Maybe she’s on to something?
“Something’s wrong,” she began. “I have a theory about it. It all has to do with rom-coms and sitcoms. You know how there’s been, like, the past 10 years — I would even say the past 15 years — this decline in the making of rom-coms? Or, like, legitimate big movie stars being in rom-coms?”
Witherspoon adds, “It’s not just rom-com movies, but I also think of rom-com television shows. The television show that you watched when you were 11, 12, or 13, that made you imagine and visualize dating skills.”
Audiences have to pull our weight
As we mentioned on the top of this article, the discussion about rom-coms in Hollywood really isn’t going away. Despite a couple of really noteworthy entries scoring box office success in recent years. There are still reheated social media arguments about where all the romantic comedies are every 4 months or so. It’s exhausting! These movies have largely seen themselves confined to streaming. But, that’s not even the case anymore as Anyone But You, Regretting You, and Materialists all have warmed up audiences looking for some love on-screen.
There’s the normal gnashing of teeth about superhero movies, and big budget blockbusters, muscling out the smaller pictures. But, there is also some audience culpability at play. Simply put, when a rom-com hits theaters, we probably should go see it. Social media has a nasty habit of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. One unfortunate side effect of our current cinema landscape is that things that do not draw at the box office do not get made.
And a dastardly bit of “be the change you want to see in the world,” we audience members have to do our part. That means, just like when a mildly well received movie gets an unexpected bounce at the box office, romantic comedy fans need to put our money where our mouths are.
Not to be too alarmist, as recent years have seen this getting a little bit better. With the media climate determined to sink the superhero genre, and now turning its fangs towards action movies as well, we could expect a glut of biopics, musical adaptations, and of course romantic comedies. (Because ladies have to go see something at the theater, or some other such nonsense?)
You, Me & Tuscany looks like a fun test of how much we all really want to fall in love again. Let’s hope we pass with flying colors on the way to get a spritz.
(Photo Credit: Universal)
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Aaron Perine
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