When In Rome

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: January 29, 2010

DVD Release Date: TBD

Plot 411: A girl is pursued by suitors after her trip to Rome and must figure out which guy is the real deal.

Review: When Beth (Kristen Bell) goes to Rome for her sister's wedding, she meets her brother-in-law's college roommate Nick (Josh Duhamel) and they hit it off. Previously shut off from love, she decides to take a chance on Nick. But as all her previous experience has revealed, she realizes that he's just like all the other guys she's dated. Drunkenly, she splashes around in the fountain of love outside the church. Disheartened with love and cynical about the powers of the fountain, she picks up five coins in an effort to save the coins' owners from a broken heart. Unfortunately, this causes the opposite effect. The coins' owners, who include Antonio (Will Arnett), Lance (Jon Heder), Gale (Dax Shepard), Al (Danny DeVito) and Nick, all fall in love with her. Upon her return to New York, Beth is confronted with each of the men as they attempt to woo her. This movie wasn't as disappointing to me as Dear John, but I didn't really have the same high hopes for it to begin with. It played out like a typical romantic comedy and didn't really have any twists, making it quite predictable. The romantic relationship between Beth and Nick was not successfully portrayed by Bell and Duhamel. In Rome, it looked like they might have potential, but once they were back in New York (most of the movie), the two actors didn't seem to have a lot of chemistry. It wasn't believable that they would fall in love with each other, which I suppose can only be attributed to the actors' performances. The comic relief provided by Beth's other suitors was just mediocre too.

Watch It: If you don't care that it's a below average rom com.

Skip It: If you're watching it for the Italian scenery (like I did). Most of the film takes place in New York so no Italian countryside and barely any of the city is shown.

Smother

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: September 26, 2008

DVD Release Date: May 5, 2009

Plot 411: An neurotic mother moves into her slacker son's home when she suspects her husband of cheating.

Review: Man, it's been a rough movie-watching experience these past couple of films. Diane Keaton plays Marilyn, a 60-year-old mother and wife who suspects her husband Gene (Ken Howard) is having an affair. Marilyn moves herself and a bunch of rescue dogs into her son Noah's (Dax Shepard) home until she sorts things out. However, also living in the home are Noah's wife Clare (Liv Tyler) and her cousin Myron (Mike White). Marilyn is a complete nutcase and lives her life from one crisis (that she creates and invents on her own) to the next. She feels her life is useless, meaningless and that she has not accomplished anything. Keaton plays the overbearing mother quite well - so well that it's utterly annoying. Because of his parents' instability, Noah is afraid to have kids with his wife and tries to sabotage each attempt. Shepard (of MTV fame) doesn't really stretch the acting muscle much in this role. But then again, neither does Tyler. She's still her serene, zen-like self despite scenes that require emotional turmoil.

Watch It: Maybe . . . but only if you like Diane Keaton. I like her a lot and still this movie didn't do much for me.

Skip It: If you fall into the rest of the viewing audience.