Love & Gelato is a 2022 film directed by Brandon Camp and based on the novel of the same name by Gina Evans Welch, starring Susanna Skaggs, Tobia De Angelis, and Owen McDonnell. To honor the memory of her mother, an American girl spends her summer in Rome. Through her romantic adventures in Rome, she discovers some secrets about her mother’s past that change everything she thought she knew. Love & Gelato is a heartwarming coming-of-age story about first love, family, and self-discovery. The film’s gorgeous setting of Rome provides the perfect backdrop for Lina’s journey of self-exploration and growth.
Ready Steady Cut gave particular praise to Skaggs’ performance and the chemistry between the leads saying, “It may be cliche, but the nerdy, anxious girl who has her nose in a book is a trope, but a classic one. And Susana Skaggs does what the role asks of her. She has a quality and “look” that I would compare to young Amy Adams. That’s endearing. So is her romance with Lorenzo, both charming enough to get you to care about the story.” If you’re looking for another feel-good movie to watch, here are five movies definitely worth checking out.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a 2018 musical comedy film and the sequel to Mamma Mia! The movie features an ensemble cast, including some familiar faces from the first film as well as some new ones. Similar to Love & Gelato, where Lina discovers more about her mother, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’s plot picks up after the events of the first movie, with Amanda Seyfried‘s character Sophie learning more about her mother’s past while preparing for the birth of her own child. Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn, and Alexa Davies play young versions of Donna and her friends in flashbacks, while Cher appears as Sophie’s grandmother. As in the previous movie, the characters sing ABBA songs throughout. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was generally well-received by critics, who praised its performances and soundtrack. The Guardian gave a glowing five-star review of the film and praised its direction, saying, “Taking over the directorial reins, Ol Parker (who made Imagine Me & You and the underrated Now Is Good) delivers a slicker package than Phyllida Lloyd’s record-breaking original, full of elegant camera moves, snappy choreography and mirrored shots juxtaposing disparate frames, both temporal and spatial.”
The Half Of It
The Half of It is a 2020 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Alice Wu. It stars Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, and Alexxis Lemire, with Enrique Murciano, Wolfgang Novogratz, Catherine Curtin, Becky Ann Baker, and Collin Chou in supporting roles. The Half of It follows Ellie Chu, a high school student who lives with her father in a small town in Washington. To help pay for college, Ellie earns money by writing essays for her classmates. When the popular guy in school asks Ellie to help him woo a girl he likes, Ellie agrees, and they begin to become friends. The Half of It is a heartwarming coming-of-age story about first love, friendship, and staying true to yourself. Leah Lewis gives a breakout performance as Ellie, and the film’s witty script and charming cast make it a very enjoyable movie. Variety praised Wu’s performance in the film and wrote, “Wu’s unique take on teen angst hints at what else we’ve been missing by allowing studios to limit who can tell such stories. If the genre seems played out or else rife with clichés, it’s a direct result of such exclusion. Expanding the field, as Netflix does, reveals that we still haven’t seen half of it.”
Eat Pray Love
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Another film that explores self-discovery is the 2010 American biographical romantic drama film Eat Pray Love, directed by Ryan Murphy and starring Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert, based on Gilbert’s 2006 memoir of the same name. The film follows Elizabeth as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery following her divorce. She travels to Italy, India, and Bali, where she develops friendships with fellow travelers and learns to appreciate different cultures. Along the way, she also finds love again. While the film was generally well-received by critics, it was not without its detractors. Some felt that it was too simplistic in its portrayal of a woman’s journey of self-discovery, while others found the film to be inspiring and uplifting. However, there is no denying that Eat Pray Love is a visually stunning film that captures the beauty of its locations. And at its heart, it is a story about learning to accept oneself, find happiness within, and feel thankful for the little things in life. The Hollywood Reporter commended the film in its review, saying, “The charms of each location and the vigor of the film’s supporting players cast a romantic glow. No, travel — and certainly self-realization — is never quite like this with Robert Richardson’s iridescent landscapes and loving portraits of colorful bystanders, the brilliant, exotic sets and costumes by Bill Groom and Michael Dennison, and the nicely unhurried pace of Bradley Buecker’s editing. But it should be.”
Toscana
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A charming film also set in Italy is the 2022 Danish romantic comedy-drama film, Toscana, written and directed by Mehdi Avaz and starring Anders Matthesen as the fictional Michelin cook Theo Dahl. In the film, Dahl quits his job at a prestigious Copenhagen restaurant and moves to Tuscany to open his own eatery. However, he quickly discovers that the Tuscan food scene is far different from what he’s used to. With the help of his new friends, Dahl sets out to learn about the regional cuisine and eventually finds success with his own unique dishes. Along the way, he also falls in love with a local woman named Chiara (played by Alicia Vikander). Toscana is a charming and heartwarming film that celebrates the joys of food and love. In a review by Common Sense Media, they wrote, “As another addition to the growing genre of movies about ill-tempered chefs, Toscana offers something lyrical and eloquent in what is left unsaid. It isn’t clear if all the unfilled blank spaces left in this movie are artful and deliberate or just happenstance.”
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Rebecca Hall. The plot of the film centers on two American women, Vicky and Cristina, who spend a summer in Barcelona, Spain. While in Barcelona, the women meet an artist named Juan Antonio, who is attracted to both Vicky and Cristina. Juan Antonio’s ex-wife, María Elena, is also featured in the film and is portrayed as being mentally and emotionally unstable. The film was shot on location in Barcelona, Avilés, and Oviedo, Spain. In a review by Empire, they praised various aspects of the film, saying, “Within Allen’s recent output, Vicky Cristina is the highlight. See it for beautiful locales, an ambivalent look at human relationships, and a clutch of great performances, especially from Cruz.”
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