La Dolce Villa: Your Dad's Favorite Rom-Com

I don't know about you, but I know a lot of people who are currently looking at ways to leave the United States. One of my friends recently mentioned that she's working on establishing Italian citizenship through her grandparents, and we all started digging through our genealogy trying to find some Italian blood. I, unfortunately, am as Irish as a potato and they don't want us back. If you are also fantasizing about leading a slow life in a beautiful place dedicated to simple pleasures, then you'll probably enjoy La Dolce Villa, the new rom-com that just dropped on Netflix.

Eric (Scott Foley) is a restaurant consultant who finds out that his daughter Olivia (Maia Reficco) is buying a €1 house in Italy via her Instagram post. Convinced that she's making a mistake, he drops everything in the middle of a big deal to travel to Italy and convince Olivia to change her mind. But Olivia is determined, and she has an ally in the town mayor Francesca (Violante Placido), who would do anything to put tiny Montezara on the map again. That includes selling Olivia a house that is maybe not 100% part of the €1 program, a decision that will obviously come back to bite her in the culo.

Eric, still convinced that his daughter doesn't know what she's doing, offers to lend her the money for the renovations as long as he can stay on and "help." At first he tries to maintain the same go-go-go lifestyle he's used to, but Italy wears him down and soon he's making fresh pasta and bicycling through vineyards with the best of them. He's also falling for Francesca, the only person in town who shares his ambitious nature. When culo-biting Americans inevitably show up to claim the villa, Eric has to choose between the life he thought he wanted, and the life he's come to love. Take a wild guess which way he goes.

I knew exactly how this movie from going to go from the opening minutes. I mean, really--has there ever been a fastidious American who spent more than a week in Italy and didn't become a loose-limbed lover of the Italian lifestyle? I've watched four other Italy-based rom-coms and they all have this same plot. There will be:

Sexy pasta-making ☑️

Sun-drenched Italian vistas ☑️

Two lovers laughing in a vineyard ☑️

Hilarious jokes about Italian bureaucracy ☑️

Judgmental old ladies ☑️

A scene where everyone dances under the stars ☑️

I didn't enjoy this any less because I knew what would happen. I watched it with a big bowl of shrimp pesto pasta and that was a delightful way to spend a snowy night. Not much happens, but it made my eyes happy.

Normally I ask whether you should watch this with your grandmother, but this time I'll recommend watching this with your dad. It will be his new favorite movie. Scott Foley is handsome, charming, intelligent, and virile, which I bet your dad wants to be. He goes from being a stressed consultant to a chef, which I bet your dad would like to do. And finally, the emotional climax of the movie is his Gen Z daughter admitting that he was right about settling down and she never could have succeeded without him, which I bet your dad wants to hear. You might just turn him into a rom-com fan.

What's your dad's favorite movie? Let me know!