Review: 'You, Me & Tuscany' reminds us of why we watch rom-coms: Good-looking people in gorgeous places — and, as a bonus, sumptuous food

In some ways, “You, Me & Tuscany” is a thoroughly modern romantic comedy — in that it stars to impossibly good-looking actors and puts them in a situation that is less plausible than movies with dragons in them.

But in a couple of key ways, director Kat Coiro’s movie is old-fashioned, starting with the fact that you (for now) have to see it in a movie theater, rather than streaming it on Netflix or tuning into the Hallmark Channel and sitting on the couch, folding laundry while you watch.

Halle Bailey, having survived the live-action “The Little Mermaid,” stars as Anna, whose work as a house sitter is a stopgap for her getting back to some semblance of a real life. In some quick character exposition, we learn that Anna learned to be a chef from her mother, and had nearly completed her degree at a culinary school when she dropped out when her mother got sick. Her dream had always been to go to Tuscany, and she still has the plane ticket her mom bought for them before she died.

In a hotel bar, maxing out her credit card on dinner, Anna tells this story to a traveling real-estate executive from, you guessed it, Tuscany. Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor) shows Anna pictures of his villa, and the restaurant his father, Vincenzo (Paolo Sassanelli), has run for decades — the one Matteo has left behind to avoid following in the family business.

Anna takes this chance encounter as a sign to book that trip to Tuscany, and visit the town where Matteo’s family lives. Once there, she discovers the hotels are all booked up, for the town’s annual summer festival. With few options, she goes to Matteo’s villa — figuring he’d never go there — and sleeps in his bed.

The next morning, Matteo’s mom, Gabriella (Isabella Ferrari), and his Nonna (Stefania Casini) find the trespassing Anna. The accidental placement of a diamond ring on Anna’s hand leads to a misunderstanding, in which the whole family believes Anna is Matteo’s fiancee, and that her being in Tuscany means Matteo will be returning home soon.

Complicating the lie is the family’s neighbor, and adopted son, Michael (played by “Bridgerton” hunk Regé-Jean Page), who runs a nearby vineyard where Gabriella plans to stage Anna and Matteo’s wedding. Anna and Michael argue when they first encounter each other, but forced proximity allows them to soften toward each other — and Anna starts to worry she’s falling for him.

I haven’t said “spoiler alert” through any of this, because these plot points are all in the trailer — and besides, the script by Ryan Engel (who shares story credit with his wife, Kristin) is so welded to the rom-com formula that it would be a twist if any of that didn’t happen. 

But even an old formula still has its potency, with the right ingredients. And Bailey’s winsome smile, Page’s gorgeous abs and English charm, and the seductive images of Tuscan sunsets and Italian cooking are all the ingredients a trifle like this needs to be entertaining.

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‘You, Me & Tuscany’

★★★

Opens Friday, April 10, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for some strong language and sexual material. Running time: 106 minutes.