Review of La Dolce Villa, directed by Mark Waters

If you’re new here and found this blog through the mysterious powers of the Internet, welcome! My name is Ashley, and I’m a dedicated reader and movie watcher who thought to turn this website into a little digital archive of sorts.

I was watching and reading so much that I wanted to keep track of it all, so I began blogging as a way to keep these books as memories somewhat forever.

That said, I recently fell into a period of unemployment, and this blog was a solace for me. Not only was it a way to make a little bit of money when there was nothing else coming my way really, but I found, after getting my finances in order, that I enjoyed sitting down to write blog posts when I had nothing else to do in my day.

I worked as a film and television critic at a professional outlet for a while, and that was when I realized I should start my own blog to document my literary and film endeavors. Throughout the years I’ve been writing little blurbs and reviews for myself on shows, movies, and books, but never put them anywhere.

When I was working as a critic, I was always watching all the new releases. I was going to film festivals and seeing all the latest and greatest, but I got burned out of that quickly. Lately I’ve been trying to channel the magic of being excited for a new show or movie dropping, and now I’m slowly but surely learning to find joy in it again.

One of the movies I’ve watched recently is La Dolce Villa. I love Maia Reficco; when I first saw her in the Pretty Little Liars reboot and in Do Revenge I knew this girl was going to be everywhere. Then she was cast in Hadestown opposite of Jordan Fisher, which confirmed she is so incredibly talented to me.

I watched the entire movie on a Friday morning. It’s not too long, clocking in at a little over an hour and half, so it was the perfect squeeze before I started applying to more jobs.

Let’s get into the review! I don’t want to ramble too much in the introduction, as I know these can get a little long.

When his daughter buys a one euro home in Italy, a man finds love with the town’s mayor.

This is a pretty standard fun romantic comedy in some ways, so buckle up. We’re going to Italy. The film starts with Eric, an American dad, flying to Italy to go see his daughter Olivia. She studied abroad in Italy and studied the language in college, and now that she’s graduated, she wants to buy a one euro property in Italy.

Which sets Eric off, as he thinks she’s being impulsive and will change her mind immediately. And while he’s right about that in some ways, he kind of plays the role of helicopter parent because his wife, and Olivia’s mother, died years prior to the events of the movie.

He reluctantly goes off to see the properties with Olivia, and he meets the town’s mayor Francesca, who accompanies them on the tours. The one euro homes are kind of dumps, which leads Eric to disapprove of a good chunk of them, but turns out Olivia is set on having a DIY situation with Francesca’s brother-in-law (turns out her spouse also died prior to the events of the film)

Somewhere along the way, during renovations, Eric befriends the locals. There are three grandmothers all named Antonia, a coffee shop owner trying to make his dreams happen with the shop, and then the attractive pasta restaurant owner (who seems to have a thing with Olivia) reignites Eric’s passion for food.

He has a eureka moment in the house, which is being renovated, after going to the pasta restaurant. He tells everyone that the home they bought could be a cooking studio where they teach classes, which will bring more tourism into the town.

There are also sprinkles of moments between Eric and Francesca, but, if we’re going to be honest, these two had absolutely no chemistry to me. They officially get together when she brings him to a beach party with her, but I thought that the pasta guy and his daughter had better romance vibes. But I do appreciate people, in middle age, finding love again, so I give the movies kudos for that representation.

As a girlie who graduated from college and is the same age (presumably—Reficco and I are the same age), I could also appreciate her one little comment about how our generation is screwed, so why not try and get a one euro home. Also turns out that her father was right, as she’s trying to get a design apprenticeship and Rome—and does land it.

There’s one last gasp of a dramatic moment in the last thirty minutes. The ancestors of the people who previously owned the home come to claim in, and while Eric and Olivia are prepared to give it up for the cost of what they paid to renovate it, Francesca and company save the day by going through the town’s records.

Olivia then comes clean about the interior design apprenticeship, and how she got it. Her father tells her it’s okay, and the movie ends on a high note where everyone’s happy.

Overall Thoughts

It’s a cute feel good movie, that’s for sure. But when it comes to quality, I mentioned before that the two leads are lacking any chemistry. I was not feeling their romance at all, although, as I said before, I could appreciate it. We love second chances.

I also thought the dialogue was cheesy. Romcoms tend to be quite cheesy in general, but I felt like the scenarios and dialogue that occurred because of it felt so contrived that it was unnatural at some points. The last thirty minutes felt entirely unnecessary in some ways, especially when it comes to the plot point of the house being taken away. I rolled my eyes when we got into that conflict.

All in all, the movie is a good time though. It’s not the best movie out there, that’s for sure, but it’s a solid Friday night watch when you don’t want to think too hard and watch some fluff happen on screen.

Go watch it if you’re interested! You might find it more worth it than I did. Taste is subjective, which is the beauty of having conversations about art and film.

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