Eh, It's-A Italy: Seconda Parte

I’ve gone back to Italy for more! A month ago, I reviewed two Netflix Italian rom-coms that came out this year. Just in case you were worried that those two movies constituted the entirety of Netflix's Italy-set rom-coms released in 2022, I'm here to tell you that there are at least two more available. If you can't get enough of Vespas riding through sun-drenched wineries, I'm here to tell you where to get your fix.

Jumping From High Places: Sole (Federica Torchetti) is stuck. Her crippling anxiety keeps her from following her dreams, and the recent death of her best friend Emma is making her question whether it's even worth it to try. When her best friend's brother, Massimo (Lorenzo Richelmy) gives Sole a posthumous letter from Emma, she's forced to confront her fears in order to live the sort of life she wants. Her adventures include swimming in a cave with Massimo, painting in a garden with her handsome friend Danio (Cristiano Caccamo), going on a roller coaster with the three girls who act as her fairy godmothers, and watching cliff divers from a glorious Italian beach. Basically, she's acting out all the Italian beach-town dreams you didn't even know you had.

Of the four Italian-set rom-coms I've watched in the past month, this is the only one that's actually an Italian movie made by Italian people for Italian audiences. Somebody should have told them that, by law, all films set in Italy need at least one sensual cooking experience. The closest this movie gets is when Danio leaves his focaccia behind when he runs after Sole. If you like a coming-of-age romance, you could do worse than this one...but you could also do better. If you want to watch a doe-eyed ingenue accept her own oddities and find love, watch Amelie instead. Honestly, the part about this movie that I will remember the most is that her fairy godmother friends give her a makeover that, a la Ally Sheedy in the Breakfast Club, actually makes her look worse. This would be a good watch if you want a sunny movie on a cold winter night, but it's not a must-see.

Love & Gelato: Lina (Susanna Skaggs) doesn't want to spend the summer in Italy--she'd rather be at home preparing for her first year at MIT. But her mother's dying wish was that Lina learn to live the same way she did: with a magical summer in Rome that would open her heart and mind. On her first day, Lina meets Alessandro (Saul Nanni), a pouty rich boy who wants to take her to the opera, and Lorenzo (Tobia DeAngelis) a dorky chef-in-training who wants to feed her pastries, and both boys proceed to fall over themselves giving her fabulous Italian experiences. Along the way, Lina discovers more about her mother's time in Italy and what true family means.

And apparently it means finding Lina's endless whiny bullshit to be endearing and charming. Like, girl, you are on an all-expenses paid trip to Italy and every boy in Rome wants to date you, please try to have some fun. She's not really mourning for her mother, as evidenced by the fact that it seemingly takes her weeks to read her mother's very short diary, and she's not stressing about school, despite how often she wears something to remind us that she's going to MIT. At one point, the hot rich guy is like, come to my villa and bring a bathing suit, and she replies "Do you know how many honors classes I took? Enough to not look good in a bathing suit!" What does that even mean? Do smart people not swim? And look, we all know the hot rich guy is gonna end up being a scumbag, but when his inevitable betrayal comes Lina's reaction is way out of line with the offence. I know this character is young, but even she should have the self-respect to put on big-girl clothes before she goes to confront him at a fancy restaurant. By the end of this two-hour movie, I was actively rooting against her happiness. Also, two-hours is too long for a rom-com, come on.

Christmas rom-com season is almost upon us! Do you have any recommendations for me? Let me know at lily@lilycahill.com!