'You, Me & Tuscany' is a tasty but predictable rom-com trip – Review

Brian Truitt, USA TODAYThu, April 9, 2026 at 4:02 AM UTC

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There’s a certain comfort-food quality to the romantic comedy, and in that respect “You, Me & Tuscany” is the Chef Boyardee of the genre – a basic throwback, sure, yet one that still hits the spot if you’re craving.

Director Kat Coiro (“Marry Me”) tosses in pasta dishes and many glasses of vino with a love triangle and some cool Italian sights in “Tuscany” (★★½ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters April 10). It’s the kind of movie that feels like it should be streaming on Netflix, though for rom-com fans, it’s fine as decent big-screen counterprogramming to kid-friendly video game flicks and cosmic Ryan Gosling adventures.

Likable “The Little Mermaid” breakout Halle Bailey stars as Anna, now working as a New York City housesitter after shelving dreams of being a chef in Italy when her mom died. She has a chance meeting with jet-setting real estate guy Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), who tells her of breaking from his family to go his own way and of a villa he owns in Tuscany that no one ever uses.

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A love triangle emerges between Michael (Regé-Jean Page, far left), Anna (Halle Bailey) and Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor) in the romantic comedy "You, Me & Tuscany."

Sparks don’t fly exactly – and it's not like Matteo gives her an open invitation – but Anna nonetheless takes the encounter as a sign, venturing to Italy and crashing the villa in hopes of finally finding herself. When she gets found where she’s not supposed to be, Anna passes herself off as Matteo’s fiancée, which inadvertently makes her part of the family in this tight-knit Italian community. It also leads her to getting to know Michael (a charming Regé-Jean Page), a British cousin raised by Matteo’s parents as one of their own, who runs the family vineyard.

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Michael and Anna butt heads at first – he’s wary of her intentions, she thinks he’s boring and listens to podcasts – but they start to grow close, especially when Michael’s vino starts flowing. Of course, that’s when Matteo shows up out of nowhere to throw a wrench in Anna’s situation. (The brothers don't get along great.) And naturally the family also owns a restaurant that desperately needs an extra set of hands during the town’s annual food-and-wine festival, so you can see where it’s all going fairly quickly.

“Tuscany,” which leaves no trope behind, doesn’t really find itself until Anna gets in the kitchen. Bailey and Page getting drenched by sprinklers and Page slo-mo taking his shirt off is to be expected, but the culinary theme connects the Italian family and Anna’s love for her beloved mom, plus gives the movie an emotional core.

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The most predictable parts of Ryan Engle's script – and there are quite a few – tend to be eye-rolling, though better than your standard Lifetime fare at least. Coiro’s best comedic work – like with “She-Hulk” and “Girls5eva” – comes when adding just a hint of unhinged humor into straightforward scenes, and in “Tuscany,” the director is able to wring laughs out of some colorful side characters. Aziza Scott is a hoot as Anna’s pregnant best friend/real-talk Greek chorus of sorts, and Coiro herself doles out zingers as a random tourist on a bus. (She’s credited as “Catherine from Ohio,” which is pretty hilarious in itself.)

While “You, Me & Tuscany” doesn’t add anything significantly new or innovative to the rom-com recipe – and certainly doesn’t blow up the thing like “The Drama” – it’s a breezy respite for those who dig the familiar in their escapist pleasure.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'You, Me and Tuscany' review – Halle Bailey, Regé-Jean Page star

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