It's a romantic comedy with a fairy-tale twist. 

I'm talking about When in Rome, starring Kristin Bell and Josh Duhamel.  Bell plays Beth, a woman with no luck in the romance department, mostly because she's really married to her career.  Still, she would like to have something more in her life.

When in Rome for her younger sister's wedding, Beth, feeling sorry for herself, dips into the bubbly just a little too much.  That's how she finds herself stealing a few coins from a reputed "Fountain of Love".  Only after she takes the coins home with her, does she learn the legend associated with the Fountain.  Retrieving the coins has set her up to be the love-interest of those who tossed the coins in the first place.  Thus she finds herself chased by four off-beat suitors.  But - she actually took five coins.  Just who is that fifth mystery-man?

One has to accept the fanciful premise in order for the movie to work. There is no doubt that the "spell" is genuine in this movie.  We see the first four men fall under it, in an instant.  If you can't enjoy a movie based on this type of premise, then this movie won't be for you.

Once the premise is accepted, the movie is cute, with a few genuine laughs.  The four wacky suitors are complete caricatures, lest you think any of them could actually be Beth's "soulmate".  Danny DeVito, Will Arnett, Jon Heder and Dax Shepard are all over-the-top weirdoes.  One sells sausages, another is street magician.  One's a model who looks at Beth only when he can tear his eyes off himself for a moment.  And then there's the free-spirited artist, painting portraits of Beth - pretty much everywhere.  It's definitely not meant to be serious, and, indeed, it's a pretty fun romp.

And then there's Duhamel's character - also chasing Beth, and this time she's genuinely interested.  But it's hard to connect with him, when the four wackos are constantly around.

Of course, this is a rom-com.  The main love-interests are gorgeous, and it's hard to imagine how either of them (Bell/Duhamel) could have trouble finding a mate.  But I guess we have to accept this, too.

Bringing the movie down just a notch are some performances that I wasn't thrilled with.  Bell is beautiful but her performance just lacked something, for me.  She did not make me believe that a woman of her background could really believe in spells of this nature.  And, while Alexis Dziena (Beth's sister) is only on-screen for a few minutes, her acting was bad enough to be distracting.

Despite a few lackluster performances, and a fanciful premise, I smiled and even laughed a time or two.  Not the worst way to spend 90 minutes, but I wouldn't rush out to buy it, either.

Recommended: Yes