Netflix's latest original Love In The Villa seems to have all the ingredients for a good romantic comedy from a Shakespeare-inspired love story, a beautiful countryside setting, protagonists with quirky personalities, and even a sassy gay best friend who's always there to give advice to the main character. But unfortunately, Love In The Villa also has flaws that make it nothing more than another run-of-the-mill rom-com out of Netflix's assembly line.
Love In The Villa stars Kat Graham as Julie Hutton, a third-grade teacher who's an avid fan of romance and Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet, who plans a trip to Verona with her boyfriend Brandon (Raymond Ablack). But unfortunate circumstances force Julie to go on the trip alone. She arrives at her Airbnb on schedule, where she meets a cynical yet handsome British man named Charlie Fletcher (Tom Hopper). Right away, the two initially don't take kindly to each other, especially once they realise the villa they reserved was double booked, forcing them to stay together for an entire week. Both have to figure out how to get along or kill each other, but since this is a rom-com, we can foresee which direction this is going to take.
The title alone gives us a pretty good idea of how generic the movie is, and it ends up being exactly that. The story is a typical romantic comedy plot about two people with totally different personalities forced to be together. We get to see the banter and the pranks they pull on each other and although they may get off to a rocky start, things eventually warm up between the two which leads to an inevitable romance.
Some of the main problems with Love In The Villa are the cast and the script. While it's not only unable to put its own spin on this familiar concept, on top of that, the character design is unattractive. While there's nothing wrong with Graham and Hopper's performances, I see no chemistry between the two, especially the way they transition from competitors to lovers in the second half of the movie. It just doesn't feel substantive, convincing or organic.
Now because this takes place in Italy, we do get some shots of the city and even the countryside. But I really wish we were shown more, especially because Julie is in Verona due to her obsession with Romeo And Juliet. At the beginning of the movie, the point about how much Julie truly wants to explore is played up, but then we end up not seeing much of her exploration. Instead, most of the first half is set almost exclusively in the villa, which makes it kind of a boring slog to sit through at times.
Perhaps one of the best parts of the film is the soundtrack, as we get to hear many great Italian language versions of some well-known pop songs such as Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) and These Boots Are Made For Walkin'; The Monkees' I'm A Believer; or Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade Of Pale.
Overall, I can't say I was impressed by the chemistry between the main characters or the cliche story structure, as most of the storytelling in Love In The Villa feels like it is designed for those with a simple mind. However, the visuals and beautiful locations, the music and the activities the characters do around the Italian city make it more engaging. If you like rom-coms, especially familiar ones in the same vein as those on the Hallmark Channel, this one could be right up your alley.
