Ok, not gonna lie, I thought this was gonna be bad Angel Studios. I thought I was gonna get a faith based movie about praying for new love and using Kevin James to do so. To my great surprise, Solo Mio just does what we all like from romcoms: pick a pretty location, and find two cute people to root for. Why try so hard to make people swoon when Italy is just sitting right there, ready to be beautiful at all times?
Life’s about to hit it’s peak for Matt Taylor (Kevin James). The 4th grade arts teacher found Heather (Julie Ann Emery), the love of his life, documenting on TikTok and Instagram along the way. In pure middle America form: he booked their wedding in Italy, with a honeymoon travel package, culminating in an Ed Sheeran concert in Tuscany. One problem though: day of the wedding, Heather gets the jitters and bolts, somewhere in Italy. Devastated but hoping she returns, Matt distracts himself with the honeymoon trip solo, starting with a trip to a local Roman coffee shop, run by, as fate would have it, Gia (Nicole Grimaudo), the impossibly beautiful, single owner taking pity on this sad sack of a broken man.
The reason to go see Solo Mio is Italy. If ever someone wanted to fantasize about where to go for their next trip, this is about as wonderful a travelogue as you can make. The Kinnane Brothers make Rome feel like a place designed to make the best version of you come to the fore. All your fears, insecurities, just wash away as joy and love fill your heart. Everywhere Matt goes is somewhere beautiful, and only gets moreso as the trip goes along, culminating in a sojourn to a villa in Tuscany with wine tours and the craziest delightful cameo I did not really see coming. Props to the studio for not green screening it, and really going to Rome/Tuscany; that investment makes you feel what Matt feels, and helps make your heart open wide, ready to fall in love again too.
Pairing with Italy’s beauty is a sweet, adult romcom couple to root for. Watching the trailer I didn’t know if Kevin James was up for this, completely forgetting he killed it in Hitch. That good natured energy he brings to the table serves him well here. He’s given very broad, frankly lazy dialogue to work with to try to tell jokes, so instead he leans into what we love about him. About 30 minutes in he goes on a drunken night across Rome’s squared, having a blast stupidly walking around saying nonsense; you’re gonna laugh just watching him take off his pants to get into bed. And right as he’s disarmed us with that silly pratfalling, he gives us this pitiful, sweet reminder of that wonderful heart buried underneath all his hurt. no wonder Nicole Grimaudo’s Gia has sympathy for him, I would too. I had never seen Grimaudo (she’s mostly an Italian actress) before, but she’s got just as much experience as Kevin James on screen. She’s intoxicatingly radiant in Solo Mio, dangerously close to being a manic pixie dream, but too good of an actress that she rises out of it. Her and James are excellent together, as her expressive Italianness draws the sad sack into the light again, with adorable arguments and cultural malapropisms along the way. They’re so cute together, that at some point, my cynical critic heart was just overcome with happiness my eyes started to well up, the strongest recommendation I can give for Solo Mio.
So pay attention, romcom makers. Just go to France. And Italy. And California Wine Country. And the Alps. And Bali. And Rio’s Beaches. And Hawaii. And Table Mountain. Movie goers might eye roll, but after 20 minutes, they’ll forget because they’re back in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And for the Nicole Grimaudo fans, what movie of hers should I watch to fall in love with her again? I’m all in.