Nov 30

Nov 30 Christmas in Rome

Roman tour guide, Angela, loves the city and its traditions. When Oliver needs help closing a local business deal, he hires Angela to show him the city and how Italian business is done. Will he learn to slow down to seal the deal…and steal Angela’s heart along the way?

Christmas clichés:

Lacey Chabert
Opens w/ City Scene
Hate Becomes Love
Charity Work
Parents on Vacation
Tree Buy & Trim
Cute, Precocious Child
Deceased Parent
Sleigh Ride
Carolers
Ends w/ Kiss or Ring

Our Thoughts

Another year, another attempt from Lacey to snag a “Very Merry” spot on our list. We’re never disappointed by our cliched leading lady, so “Christmas in Rome” landed the #2 spot on our top 2019 premieres list. The Roman scenery and Lacey’s spark helped us get excited by this Hallmark offering.

It couldn’t be bad, right?

Right. “Bad” is too harsh of a term for this movie. “Basic” or “Where the heck is Christmas, people?” is a better description.

Roman tour guide, Angela (Lacey Chabert, shockingly not sweaty in the Italian summer shoot) is fired right before Christmas—she can’t help herself from bringing tour groups to Roman hidden gems. Fate plays a hand when she runs into investor, Oliver (Sam Page, a perfect template for a Hallmark Hunk). He’s just landed in Rome and needs to close a ceramics deal. But, he has no clue about Italian cultural norms…or how to find his hotel room. Oliver hires Angela to teach him about Rome and, subsequently, how to win over Luigi, the ceramics company owner who wants to pass the business to someone who knows it’s “not just about the clay.”

The plot unfolds in the usual way. A mild Hate Becomes Love blossoms under a quick Tree Buy & Trim and some sweet discussion on how to complete a business plan. You’ll even get to learn some fun facts about Rome. For example, throwing coins in the Trevi Fountain seems to be encouraged, and throwing in 3 coins will “bring you true love.” We also enjoyed the hint at Charity Work via the caffe sospeso (aka, our “pay it forward” at the Starbucks drive-thru).

What you probably noticed in that description is the lack of seasonally relevant plot points. The scenery’s so sunny you’ll crave some snowfall. And even when our leads romantically knead some holiday panettone, they talk about Angela’s Deceased Parents’ romance more than why Christmas has meaning to their childhood or present day.

We loved the funding behind the Roman setting; better that than poorly executed CGI snowflakes. However, the entire plot played out like any other Hallmark movie. We can handle cheesy romance when it’s wrapped in the season. Without obvious Christmas magic, though, we were left scratching our heads on this movie’s value proposition to the genre.

Vespas aren’t Reindeer, and the basement of a ceramics company isn’t Santa’s workshop. (Though Oliver’s painted ornaments are a nice touch.) It’s not a painful movie to watch…but is that really our barometer for what counts as “Merry”? We think not.

Rob's Final Take: Not Very Merry
Strong leads and a few charming moments. It’s a fine made-for-TV romance to watch in June, but definitely not a Christmas movie.

Jess's Final Take: Not Very Merry
Lacey is her lovely self, but the movie cares more about promoting the city of Rome than the traditions of Christmas. Thank U, Next.