{"id":25282,"date":"2022-09-01T00:14:35","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T07:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25282"},"modified":"2022-09-01T00:14:35","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T07:14:35","slug":"love-in-the-villa-isnt-worth-the-rental","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25282","title":{"rendered":"LOVE IN THE VILLA Isn\u2019t Worth the Rental"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Running Time: 114 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This movie will be released globally on Netflix on\nSeptember 1st<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, I\u2019m not the target audience for Love in the Villa,\na frothy romance feature that looks like it could have just as easily debuted\non the Hallmark Channel as it has on Netflix. However, this week marks a slower\nperiod for entertainment options. And I was intrigued by the talent behind the\ncamera on this project. Love in the Villa<\/em> was written and directed by\nMark Steven Johnson, whose previous credits include Daredevil<\/em> (2003) and\nGhost Rider<\/em> (2007). He also wrote the story for Christopher Robin<\/em>\n(2018), a recent title that I greatly admired. Frankly, it\u2019s initially\ndifficult to tell if this picture was intended as a parody of a Hallmark title.\nBut if it is, it isn\u2019t an effective one and doesn\u2019t even deliver as a\nstraight-forward rom-com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Julie (Kat Graham) is a primary school teacher, hopeless romantic\nand meticulous planner who has long-planned a trip to Verona, Italy with\nboyfriend Brandon (Raymond Ablack) to the area where the Shakespearian play Romeo\nand Juliet<\/em> is set. She expects her significant other will propose to her\nduring the stay, but is shocked when he backs out of the trip and ends their\nrelationship. After a terrible flight, she arrives and discovers that the owner\nhas double-booked the villa. It seems she has to share the site for a week with\nstuffy British wine importer Charlie (Tom Hopper) who is attending a conference\nin the city. The two butt heads immediately, but as the days pass the pair\nbegin to develop feelings for each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the performers, from the leads to the supporting cast\nof locals are directed to act in an over-the-top manner. It\u2019s so exaggerated\nearly on that one\u2019s expectations initially change to expect a much sillier\nfilm. Even still, the story puts its characters in preposterous situations that\nstrain all credibility. Much of the first third of the film features the leads\ntrying to sabotage one another. The conflict is ignited when Julie has a\ntelephone conversation with a friend who encourages her to be assertive and\nforcibly make Charlie leave. This is completely pointless and unnecessary, as\nthe two already know there are no vacant rooms in the city for the evicted\nparty to go. Yet, elaborate, nasty and sometimes life-threatening pranks are\npulled. None of these bits are very funny and some even come across as\nmean-spirited.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Somehow, the film seemingly wants us to think of this as\nplayful flirting. And then, just as suddenly and beyond all reason, the\nprotagonists begin sharing stories of heartache and quickly fall for one\nanother. It feels completely forced and false, especially after all that has\npreceded this change. And, even odder, when Julie and Charlie finally do start\nappreciating each other and attempt to provide assistance, it still goes\nsideways and results in serious problems (although the pair don\u2019t seem to care\nwhat happens to their professional careers by this point). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, are there any positives? Well, the movie was largely\nshot in Verona, Italy and makes for a gorgeous travelog. The city and winery\nlocations are lovely and cinematography very polished. And there is a funny\nmoment or two. Most involve the reactions of servers as terrible events are\nbefalling the main characters. Additionally, a couple of off-the-cuff comments\nfrom Charlie do earn a chuckle, including a scene in which he suggests that an\ninspirational quote sounds like a tagline from a popular movie. The pair do\ntheir best to provide some sparks and a bit of life is generated towards the\nclose with an unexpected arrival or two, but all the romance has long since\nfizzled by this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This reviewer isn\u2019t an enthusiast of Hallmark Channel\nmovies, but at least they have the good sense to move at a tight clip and wrap\nthings up in a timely manner. This picture ultimately drags on for nearly two\nhours before reaching its inevitable conclusion. And oddly enough, the\nfilmmakers don\u2019t even bother to detail the next steps for some of the\ncharacters or where their paths will take them. It\u2019s a misstep for the\nwriter\/director and one hopes that he avoids this genre in the future. Even on\nNetflix, Love in the Villa<\/em> may not be worth the rental. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 114 minutes This movie will be released globally on Netflix on September 1st. Admittedly, I\u2019m not the target audience for Love in the Villa, a frothy romance feature that looks like it could have just as easily debuted on the Hallmark Channel as it has on Netflix. However, this week marks a slower […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,4660,8810,10042,11462,12701,12702,12703,12704,14680,16707,17302,17310,17324,23022,23729],"class_list":["post-25282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-comedy","tag-hallmark","tag-italy","tag-kat-graham","tag-love-in-the-villa","tag-love-in-the-villa-film-review","tag-love-in-the-villa-movie-review","tag-love-in-the-villa-review","tag-netflix","tag-raymond-ablack","tag-rom-com","tag-romance","tag-romeo-and-juliet","tag-tom-hopper","tag-verona"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}