If You Have Been Missing Rom-Coms... (I know I have)!

[I review the rom-coms "Office Romance," "Jane Austen Wrecked My Life" and "La Dolce Villa."]

I know rom-coms can be formulaic and often silly, but sometimes there is nothing better to take your mind off of the trials of the world than some love stories you can count on, especially when they take place in romanic locations. And here are three good ones (well, maybe the office isn't romantic but Paris, Italy and the English Countryside certainly are)! 

Office Romance (2026)

Jackie Cruz (Jennifer Lopez) is the CEO and President of Air Cruz, a major airline company founded by her father. She runs a tight ship especially when it comes to office romances.  But she never expected to meet Daniel Blanchflower (Brett Goldstein).

Jackie (Lopez) is under a lot of pressure from her company board and her demanding father (Edward James Olmos).  She desperately wants her father's respect, so she is a no-nonsense manager who enforces a rigid, anti-fraternization policy.  And so goes her personal life as well. It's no-nonsense, rigid and very isolated.

Enter reserved and very British Daniel Blanchflower (Goldstein), who is newly hired as the company's legal counsel and wouldn't you know?  He is assigned a high-stakes litigation case that forces him to work closely with Jackie. Sparks fly and now Jackie has to deal with her own fraternization issues.

Well, you know where this is headed, right?  Let the rom-com tropes begin!  Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love.  Boy and girl break up because there is some kind of misunderstanding or challenge that needs to be overcome.  Boy and girl get back together.

Yes, those tropes are in play here to a certain extent, but what sets this rom-com apart from Hallmark and other lightweight love stories is the smart writing by Goldstein and writing partner, Joe Kelly, the smart direction of Ol Parker, interesting characters like Jackie's very pregnant assistant, Sydney (Betty Gilpin), who adds a fun comic element and almost steals the show, and the side plot about the family matter that has brought Daniel to America.  It's not your usual rom-com, though it's got rom and it's got com.

J-Lo was made for rom-coms and writer/actor Brett Goldstein must agree with me.  He wrote this movie for her.  And this is the kind of movie I enjoy seeing her in. She is a beautiful, luminous woman who radiates warmth from the screen. I think she actually looks better now at 56 than she did when she first starred in "Selena."  Who wouldn't fall in love with her?  I did. I have been a big fan of hers from the start. But this is a bit of a departure for J-Lo, even in the rom-com genre.  In her past rom-coms, she would usually start out needing to improve her life - think "Maid in Manhattan" or "Second Act." - but here she is already at the top as a CEO. She just needs a little romance and you know (whisper)...sex. And Goldstein makes a great leading man and foil for Jackie, though I had a hard time trying to forget him as Roy Kent on "Ted Lasso," with that colorful language of his. But here he is toned down, handsome, sensitive and very sexy and the two have great chemistry.  And rumor has it that Goldstein and J-Lo have a real life romance.  I want that to be true.

Rom-coms used to be everywhere in the "old days."  Where are the new versions of "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" when you are craving a romantic getaway?  Rom-coms seem to have gone the way of the albatross in lieu of super heroes, sci fi and horror, but perhaps the success of this film will bring them back. We need those kinds of films when we are tired of super heroes, sci fi and horror and, yes, the sometimes horror of real life.

Rosy the Reviewer says...got my rom-com fix, and I have to say that this is one of the best rom-coms I have seen in a long time (Netflix).

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (2024)

A lonely Parisian bookseller yearns to be a writer but keeps not only messing that up but her love life as well.

Agathe (Camille Rutherford) is a French bookseller who works at the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company in Paris and aspires to be a writer.  She lives with her sister and her sister's young son and cycles everywhere, as she is too anxious to ride in cars anymore since her parents were killed in a car accident in which she was injured. Agathe is a strange duck. She is a huge Jane Austen fan and has a difficult time relating to her own real life, feeling like she is living in the wrong century. She has no romantic life, instead only manifesting itself in her writing and yearning for a love story worthy of a Jane Austen heroine.

One evening, after Agathe imagines a handsome naked man in a restaurant, she is inspired to write the beginning of a romance novel in English.  Her friend, Félix (Pablo Pauly), with whom Agathe is very close, reads her work and secretly sends it to the Jane Austen Residency, a two-week writing retreat held in England. When they accept her, Agathe reluctantly gets into a car and lets Félix drive her to the Channel ferry. As she is about to board, they kiss for the first time.

Agathe is met at the ferry by Oliver (Charlie Anson), a distant descendant of Jane Austen's (his parents run the Residency). There is a meet cute moment when en route to the Residency, Oliver's car breaks down and they have to spend the night in the car. Agathe insults him in French under her breath, and he surprises her when he informs her he is fluent in French. Oops. And he also informs Agathe he thinks Jane Austen is overrated. Double oops. The next morning they are rescued by an apple-cart.

This is one of those romances where there is hostility at the beginning of the relationship. Oliver is an arrogant Mr. Darcy type and Agathe doesn't like him but slowly a connection develops.  At the same time, though, Agathe experiences writer's block and Felix shows up creating a dilemma for Agathe.

Will Oliver and Agathe fall in love?  Or will she choose Felix?  And will she finish her novel?

Written and directed by Laura Piani in her feature debut, this is a quiet film, beautifully atmospheric, but how can you go wrong with the beauty of Paris and the English countryside looking like a Constable painting at every turn? Rutherford, who reminded me a bit of a younger version of Katie Holmes, is believable and charming as the awkward, anxiety-ridden Agathe.and Anson reminded me of a young Hugh Grant, perfect for a sweet, but complicated, rom-com. 

What sets this apart from other rom-coms is that this is not just about a young woman finding love but more about a young woman finding her artistic path.  You go girl!

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you love Jane Austen, Paris and the English countryside, you will love this romantic homage to literature and writing. (Netflix in English and French with English subtitles).

La Dolce Villa (2025)

An American businessman travels to Italy to stop his daughter from spending all of her money restoring an old villa, not realizing what is in store for him.

Fifty-something American widower Eric Field (Scott Foley) returns to Italy to try to stop his 24-year-old daughter, Liv (Maia Reficco), from blowing her inheritance on rebuilding a villa. Eric has taken time off for the first time in years from his restaurant support company out of concern that Liv is possibly jeopardizing her future. Liv has had a difficult time deciding what she wants to do.  She has been spending time in Italy as a tutor in Milan, a nanny in Florence and even worked harvesting olives, but then she discovered the village of Montezaraand decided she wanted to settle down there. 

Montezara is part of the 1-euro Housing Plan, a new economic plan to help remote parts of Italy. It involves selling abandoned heritage villas "as is" for one Euro, so Eric and Liv check out the potential properties, and while doing so, meet the town mayor, Francesca (Violante Placido). She is wholeheartedly in favor of the 1-euro project, hoping to revitalize Montezara. They also meet Bernardo (Tommaso Basili), the local surveyor whose job it is to oversee construction projects and he is not in favor of the project, concerned about non-italians buying up properties.

Liv chooses a property and Eric decides to handle his business remotely and stay to help Liv with the renovation despite a tense on-going relationship with her and business problems at home.  As the renovation moves forward, Eric gets an idea of turning the property into a cooking school, but more problems arise and not just with the cooking school plan. As Eric starts to have romantic feelings for Francesca, Bernardo is not happy to have a rival for Francesca's affection. 

So who will Francesca choose?  And will Liv and Eric strengthen their father/daughter bond?  And what about that cooking school?

The actors are believable and Foley and Placido make a handsome couple.  Placido is a particularly lovely actress.  Hubby was drooling over her the whole time! 

Written by Elizabeth Hackett and Hilary Galanoy and directed by Mark Waters, this film is light as a feather with some Hallmark Channel vibes, but I appreciated the generational romance aspect: we have Eric and Francesca, two people of a certain age in a romance, but also Liv and a local young chef are attracted to one another. It's also a father/daughter story as Liv and Eric work through their problems. But this is also a love letter to Italy as the film is visually beautiful and showcases the beauty of Tuscany (the town of Pienza stands in for Montezara).

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like your romance set in a beautiful Italian location with some reno and Italian house hunting thrown in, and you don't mind some predictable plot lines, you will enjoy this light, but charming rom-com. ( in English and Italian with English subtitles - Netflix)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

Lights, Cameras, ACTION!!! Some Action Movies Rosy Enjoyed!

 [I review the action films "The Mother," "Heart of Stone" and "Ghosted"]

The Mother (2023)

Don't mess with a mother!

J-Lo stars as a military operative known as "The Mother" who not only gets involved with arms smuggling but also gets romantically involved with two of the smugglers - Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes) and Hector Alvarez (Gael Garcia Bernal) - resulting in her becoming a mother, literally.  

However, when she discovers that those two guys are also into child trafficking, she turns FBI informant, but during her interrogation, Lovell attacks killing all of the agents except Special Agent William Cruise (Omari Hardwick).  The Mother saves Cruise but Lovell confronts her and stabs her in the womb.  She survives, but the baby is born prematurely and she is told that because Lovell is still out there, her baby will never be safe unless she gives up parental rights.  She reluctantly agrees but tells Cruise she will only do that under three conditions: the child will have a life as ordinary as possible, she'll get a photo every birthday, and that he will call her if her daughter is ever in jeopardy. The Mother then goes into hiding and moves to a remote cabin in Alaska with the help of her former army colleague, Jons (Paul Raci).

Well, guess what? Your daughter is in danger, girl.

Twelve years later, Cruise contacts The Mother to tell her that Alvarez and Lovell are still mad at her for blabbing and still want revenge and it looks like they are going to go after her daughter, Zoe (Lucy Paez), who is living that ordinary life in Ohio that The Mother wanted her to have.  The Mother heads to Ohio just in time to witness Alvarez's goons kidnapping Zoe.

Game on, goons.  You are messing with the wrong Mother!

The film begins with the usual action movie trope - a long cold opening with lots of action and drama which sets us up for MORE action and MORE drama. But Lopez is up for it.  Surprisingly, she makes a great action heroine. As the film unfolds we not only follow The Mother as she tries to save her daughter but we learn how she got involved with Lovell and Alvarez.  

I have always been a big fan of J-Lo.  She is not the greatest actress in the world nor the most beautiful but there is something about her that makes her a great and beautiful actress.  She exudes warmth and realness (is that a word?) that radiates off the screen.  You can't help but believe in her and root for her, even here where she is playing an unsmiling badass. This is J-Lo as you have never seen her, a female Tom Cruise (okay, so she probably had a stunt double but she does some exciting stuff).

Written by Misha Green, Andrea Berloff, and Peter Craig and directed by Niki Caro, it's a sort of female version of "Taken." Yes, there are some plot holes but there are also some great chase sequences, twists and even heart-warming moments, not to mention the great Jennifer Lopez.  The first half of the film is all action, the second half mother-daughter moments.

Rosy the Reviewer says...much better than anticipated so if you like action and you like J-Lo, you will enjoy this. (Netflix)

Heart of Stone (2023)

Bad guys are trying to steal "The Heart," a valuable but dangerous weapon from the good guys.

Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) is pretending to be a newbie for MI6 but she is in fact a female version of Bond, James Bond, a field agent known as The Nine of Hearts.  She is a member of The Charter, a murky peacekeeping agency trying to keep "The Heart," a quantum computer capable of hacking into any digital device, safe.  

"If you own the Heart, you own the world."

However, when the film begins, no one at MI6 knows Stone's true identity.  She is on a mission in the Italian Alps with an MI6 team, along with Parker (Jamie Dornan) and Bailey (Paul Ready).  They are after a wanted arms dealer.  However their cover is blown and Stone engages in the longest cold opening in history (well, probably not history but it felt like it - but in a good way).

With that failed mission, Stone is called back to London where she is reprimanded by Nomad (Sophie Okonedo), her superior at The Charter, for nearly blowing her cover.  In the meantime, it is discovered that there is a hacker out there who is after "The Heart," Keya (Alia Bhatt), a young quantum computer expert who turns out to be Stone's arch nemesis set on not only stealing "The Heart" but exposing Stone. Lots of twists and turns ensue. 

Gal Gadot is a beautiful woman but I hate to say that she is not a very good actress.  Thankfully, we have Jamie Dornan who is a beautiful man and also a good actor aided by lots of action with some great car chases and the usual stuff we expect from action films which doesn't really require Gadot to chew too much scenery. But I do give Gadot some credit. She makes a good badass and there is nothing like a badass woman saving the day. And this movie, written by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder and directed by Tom Harper, doesn't have just one badass woman, but THREE!

Rosy the Reviewer says...though derivative of practically every action film ever, there is a big twist and the film has some exciting moments with great exotic locations but there were enough script holes that I sometimes didn't know what the hell was going on...but perhaps that's just me. However, if you like action, this one's got it. (Netflix)

Ghosted (2023)

Cole is a farmer and Sadie is an art curator (wink, wink).  They "meet cute," Cole is smitten and then Sadie disappears.  

Cole (Chris Evans) and Sadie (Ana de Armas) have a one night stand - a good one - and Cole, who is suffering from a recent breakup and has a reputation for being needy, wants to continue the relationship but Sadie disappears.  When he discovers she is in London, he decides to go there to surprise her (which won't help his reputation as being needy) only to find himself embroiled in some shady shenanigans.  

He is mistaken for the Tax Man (I never did figure out why) by a mysterious guy living under the Tower Bridge who tortures Cole with insects. Cole tries to convince the guy that he is just a dorky farmer but it doesn't work.  Sadie rescues him and, if we hadn't figured it out by now, we discover that our Sadie is NOT in fact an art curator but a CIA operative and our dorky farmer finds himself embroiled in a spy plot.  

So here we have another badass woman (see reviews above) who is trying to keep the world safe from the bad guys.  We are firmly in spy movie trope world. This time there is a case with a destructive device inside dubbed Aztec and bad guys are trying to get the code to open it. The main bad guy is Leveque (Adrien Brody) who has the device in a case and is trying to sell the device but doesn't have the code to open the case. Everyone thinks the Tax Man has the code and that Cole is the Tax Man. So if Cole is not the Tax Man, who is?  Gee, I wonder... 

Lots of action as would-be assassins and bounty hunters show up trying to get that dang code while Sadie and Cole argue and bicker in true rom-com fashion.

Chris Evans, best known these days as Captain America, is probably the last guy you would expect to be playing a dork, but here it works as he is at odds with the non-dorky Sadie while they fight off would-be assassins. The two bicker so much that every time they run into one of those assassins, there is a running gag where the would-be assassin says to them "Get a room!" And speaking of would-be assassins, that's another sort of running gag because each is played by a famous face in a cameo that lasts about five seconds. (Anthony Mackie, John Cho, Sebastian Stan, and even, Ryan Reynolds).

Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna and directed by Dexter Fletcher, there is some "Romancing the Stone" going on here and some fun action sequences like Sadie driving a colorful Pakistani bus backwards along some mountain passes (not sure how they got from the Tower Bridge in London to Pakistan so fast, but oh well, suspend disbelief) and a high rise rotating restaurant that runs amok.  It's all very OTT (that's Brit talk for over the top) but it's engaging and fun.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a stylized action film that won't tax your brain. (Apple+)

EPILOGUE:  All three films share similar action movie tropes but those tropes are why we watch, right? - so "Lights, Cameras, ACTION!"

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)