Product Details

• Actors: Josh Duhamel, Kristen Bell
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001PR0YFI
• For more information about "When in Rome [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Oh, type-A, über-focused, tightly wound New York Career Girl, will you never learn? Kristen Bell, the growing darling of romantic comedies, crisply portrays the working gal whose life is super organized and rewarding--except for the pesky lack of a real boyfriend. What will it take to loosen her buttoned-down drive and open her heart to a chance at love? Well, when you're as tough a case as Bell's Beth, you're going to need the heavy artillery: Italy. When Beth visits Rome for the wedding of her sister, Joan (Alexis Dziena, Entourage's Ashley), she's suddenly awash in the city's romance. She visits the famous fountain d'amore and retrieves coins from it, hoping for magic. When in Rome succeeds because it allows reality to coexist happily with that magic--which brings forth several potential suitors for Beth. Bell is a delightful actress and brings nuance and depth to a role that's rather two-dimensional. Her suitors include Jon Heder, Danny DeVito, and Josh Duhamel, who plays Nick, a wiseacre hunk with a brain behind that self-effacing nature. When Beth suddenly has five men in love with her--one for each coin--she wonders if Nick's feelings are real, or just the fountain's crazy magic. Duhamel and Bell have an appealing, old-fashioned bantery chemistry, and if the audience knows well before Nick and Beth that they are perfect for each other, well, the journey is pleasant and the leads are engaging. DeVito is hilarious, and other great cameos belong to Anjelica Huston and Peggy Lipton. Fans of films like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, as well as fans of Bell and Duhamel, will have fun When in Rome. --A.T. Hurley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and soooo funny!, February 7, 2010

By	T.K. Perry (Mt. Hood, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When in Rome (DVD)

I adored this movie! It kept me laughing hysterically throughout :) And what a delight to see Pedro again!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 5 Coins in the Fountain Don't Add Up to Much, January 29, 2010

By	Diana F. Von Behren "reneofc" (Kenner, LA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: When in Rome (DVD)

In Mark Steven Johnson's "When in Rome," crisp, size negative 1 Kristin Bell (Veronica Mars - The Complete First Three Seasons) plays a cute workaholic curator for the Guggenheim Museum--you know the type--she's upset when she doesn't get cell coverage, has a natural cynicism regarding love, has a zany efficiency that borders on fanaticism yet always manages to pull it all together fashion-wise in a few seconds. In short she is supposed to epitomize the strong workingwoman with a weakness for love in the typical romantic comedy. Unfortunately as chin-up determined as she might be, she does not hold a candle to actresses like Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl" or even Rosalind Russell in "His Girl Friday" whose comedic timing and insouciant charm seem polished in comparison.

This observation, however, may not be due to any fault of Ms Bell's. The script written by David Diamond and David Weissman attempts to be perky, sweet and LOL funny along the lines of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" but succeeds only in offering its audience a big screen version of made-for-TV Hallmark Movie Channel Family fare with stale jokes, stereotypical characters and goofball scenarios fueled by a supernatural occurrence that takes place in a love fountain in the Piazza Navona in the Eternal City. Shades of La Dolce Vita (2-Disc Collector's Edition) and a poor man's Trevi! As Beth, Ms. Bell really doesn't have a chance; she along with sister Joan (Alexis Dziena) and assistant Stacey (Kate Micucci) come off as being so incredibly young rather than the young professionals/newlyweds that they are costumed to be. With such weak sugarcoated material their performances cannot be rated only enhanced with contrived overblown expressions more suitable to the stage than film.

The plot follows the usual rom/com formula where girl meets boy and then wonders for the duration of the film whether the boy in question (Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! (Widescreen Edition) Josh Duhamel) actually has real feelings for her. In "When in Rome" (which oddly takes place primarily in New York) when Beth does the reverse Trevi and pulls coins out of the fountain, little does she know that each coin is associated with a particular male looking for love. In a series of whacky sequences that strain comedy to its limits, the four lovelorn men in question (Danny DeVito, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, and Dax Shepard) chase her about town to the point in which she needs to beat them off with a stick. Although the fifth man, Nick played by Duhamel romantically dodges lightning bolts to be at her side, there is little development of his character. In fact, we know little about Beth or Nick-their backgrounds are blank as are their dreams and aspirations. We see Beth with her parents--the mother a bitter divorcee and her father played by a Don Johnson that has passed the point of wearing his scruffy Miami Vice stubble to any great advantage--but is her broken home to blame for her frenetic efficiency? Her rather crazy move to get into a fountain in a foreign country in an evening gown? The script has little depth beyond a contrived zaniness that gives the story no bearing.

Not that that is not okay. It all depends on the target audience and what they expect. Two hours of whimsy? `When in Rome' would have played better as "High School Musical In New York and Europe." Then no question would arise as to its intended audience for surely, this film is geared towards a young adult crowd that enjoys a bit of magic a la Teen Witch mingled with G-rated Disneyesque romance. "When in Rome's" greatest failure is its pretence as a grown-up comedy. The sophisticated writing that would give it the feel of a `Working Girl' or `Big Fat Greek Wedding' simply is not there.

Bottom Line? "When in Rome" provides about an hour and a half of mundane entertainment for the less than 25-year-old set. Leads Bell and Duhamel cannot be blamed for bad performances as the script does not afford them much range. Recommended for the lovers of family fare Hallmark Movie Channel style.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Theatrical Version, January 29, 2010

By	K. Blankenship "Kay Bee" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: When in Rome (DVD)

So, I realize that I am writing this right when it shows up in theaters, but I decided to go ahead and rate the movie based on the actual movie (not the DVD), because alot of times I will go on here to see what other people are saying about the movie, before I go see it. So, I decided to do that for this movie. :)

Overall, I enjoyed When in Rome. It's a great chick-flick.

When in Rome tells the story of Beth (Kristen Bell) who, while visiting Rome for her younger sister's wedding, realizes that she may never actually settle down because no man has ever ranked above her job. So, in a drunken craze, she visits the Fountain of Love and removes several coins from the fountain's water. This brings five guys (Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Danny Devito, and most importantly Josh Duhamel) into her life...all of whom have fallen madly in love with her. She has to figure out a way to break this spell, while also trying to figure out whether or not some of those feelings may be for real.

As I said, overall it was an enjoyable movie. It is one of those movies that you have to accept that it's not supposed to happen in real life. I mean, it's all about magic and falling in love with the right people. It does have funny enough parts to keep a guy entertained, but it is definitely a chick flick that I recommend. It made me want to visit Italy and find this so-called Fountain of Love. :)