When In Rome (PG)

24 June 2010

WHEN Beth, an unlucky-in-love New York museum curator, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome, she finds herself attracting some comically unsuitable suitors.

So when a charming reporter is smitten, Beth is sceptical that he's the real deal.

Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel star in romantic comedy WHEN IN ROME (PG), with a strong supporting cast including Danny De Vito, Anjelica Huston and Jon Heder.

For director Mark Steven Johnson, who is best known for comic book adaptations like Daredevil and Ghost Rider, this is a bit of a departure.

In this movie, he jokes, "no one's head explodes," but the film is actually a return to Johnson's roots.

"Comedy is where I started - writing Grumpy Old Men - and I really wanted to get back to it."

Johnson, along with producer Gary Foster, recognised the comedy potential of When in Rome.

"I'm not a big romantic-comedy guy. I wanted to make a comedy with romance, versus a 'romantic comedy.'

"I wanted to make a comedy that was really funny that also had a big heart to it. We had fun with this film, blowing out a lot of the conventions of a traditional romantic comedy."

Bell adds: "My character goes to her sister's wedding in Rome and has one too many glasses of champagne. She ends up wading through a fountain, gathering coins.

"What she doesn't know is that the coins belong to people who've wished for love, and are now magically inclined to pursue the woman who holds their coins.

"When she gets home, these suitors start to come after her. They're madly in love. There's a lot of chasing, a lot of running in heels."

The film involves a lot of physical comedy for her co-star, too. Producer Andrew Panay says: "One of Josh's greatest gifts is his ability to be physically funny.

"He was a college quarterback in real life, so he's very co ordinated. But to watch him scramble, fall and run into things - it's absolutely, incredibly funny. And he's so natural.