If you're looking for the perfect romantic comedy that can make you smile, keep you entertained and provide an escape from reality on a journey into the Italian countryside, then La Dolce Villa is exactly what you need. And given that it lands on Netflix the day before Valentine's Day, it's also the perfect movie to watch when you're in the mood for love.
Romantic comedies are meant to be lighthearted and fun, and La Dolce Villa checks those boxes easily. You won't enjoy the movie nearly as much if you overthink the details, rather it's best enjoyed when you just go with the flow.
Scott Foley plays Eric, a restaurant consultant whose "Dad Bat Signal" goes off upon discovering — on social media, no less — that his free-spirited daughter intends to purchase an Italian villa for one euro. He arrives in the charming town of Montezara to talk his daughter, Olivia (Maia Reficco) out of this scheme (he emphasizes that this is a scheme on several occasions). Olivia already has plans to tour available villas with Francesca (Violante Placido), the mayor of Montezara. It's not until they tour the final villa, one that's not technically part of the one-euro plan, that Olivia finds the home of her dreams.
Eric isn't sold about the whole idea but he's willing to go along with his daughter's plans after she explains that she and her mother, who passed away from cancer five years prior, used to look at these one-euro villas and dream of owning one. Being in Italy, Olivia says, makes her feel like her mother is close.
During construction, Olivia discovers an old authentic pizza oven hidden behind a wall. Eric was a very talented chef before his wife died and it's not long before his passion for food is rekindled and his enthusiasm for Olivia's project, along with his easygoing relationship with Francesca, reignites something inside him he thought was lost forever.
La Dolce Villa has a phenomenal cast, without whom this movie wouldn't be so special. It's impossible not to feel Olivia's passion for making her dream become a reality, or laughing with Eric's attempts to manage the renovation even though he's not in charge at all. Placido's Francesca is eloquent and warm despite her struggles to keep things running smoothly in Montezara. It won't take long before you're actively imagining what your dream one-euro Italian villa would be like.
Though the running joke about the perils of "adulting" wear thin very early on, they're easy to excuse when you consider that La Dolce Villa is a movie about passion, whether you're a young adult discovering the things that inspire you or you're a more established adult reclaiming passions that have been lost over the years.
Whether you're looking for a Valentine's Day movie, want a sunny escape on a rainy day or if you're searching for a movie that can remind you to embrace your own passion, La Dolce Villa is exactly what you need.
La Dolce Villa is now available to stream on Netflix.
