Let's begin with Scott Foley, the lead actor. His performance is drier and more wooden than an old door in a clapped out one-euro Italian villa. He seems like he's in a hurry to catch a plane in every scene, so, trying to get through his lines as quickly as possible, with the only expression he can muster, that of a surprised deer in the headlights. Violante Placido, the stunning Italian actress that plays Eric's love interest, was woefully directed, and the same goes for Maia Reficco, who plays his daughter. They seem to be capable of much more.
The script and dialogue is painfully predictable, formulaic and cringefully cheesy. On more than once occasion, I blurted out the dialogue almost word-for-word just before it was delivered. Eric's (Scott Foley) character is underdeveloped, touching a bit on the hackneyed stereotype of the culturally insensitive and arrogant American abroad.
The pacing is all wrong, and never changes, always feeling hurried and never allowing time for any of the character's emotions to absorb, much like a commercial. This is especially ironic for a movie about leaving the big city behind for the slow paced life of the Italian countryside.
The warm organic beauty of the scenery and sets were the only thing that kept me from fast forwarding through the film.
This genre was done a hundreds types better 22 years ago by Diane Lane in 'Under The Tuscan Sun'.
Scott Foley should find another line of work.
