You, Me & Tuscany (2026)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, April 10

PG-13 Running Time: 106 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • A love letter to Tuscany and Italy in general, You, Me & Tuscany is a gorgeously shot, fairly well acted romantic comedy that throws us back to years gone by for these kinds of films.

  • The supporting cast make this a wildly entertaining movie.

  • This movie asks nothing of you and expects only that you will check your ego at the door and just let the story wash over you.

NO

  • There is not one portion of this movie that surprises us, nor does it do anything you cannot figure out within the first 15-20 minutes.

  • Halle Bailey is a talented performer, who appears to not quite be ready to lead a movie like this on her own. Thank goodness for the supporting cast around here, because at times, she appears overwhelmed in her own movie.

  • Elements of this movie drag painfully slow, when the charm and whimsical moments are absent.


OUR REVIEW

Silly, ridiculous, yet undeniably charming and a crowd-pleaser, You, Me & Tuscany is a throwback to the romantic comedies that filled theaters throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Directed by Kat Coiro, this film makes a case that maybe audiences need more mindless, rom-com goofiness in theaters to escape from all the noise happening in the real world.

But let’s be clear: You, Me & Tuscany doesn’t feel believable in the slightest. 

Anna (Halle Bailey) feels lost after a personal tragedy has curtailed her dreams of becoming a Michelin Star chef like her mother. Having dropped out of culinary school two months before graduation, she now takes random jobs housesitting for the wealthy in New York City, “living other people’s lives,” as her friend Claire (Aziza Scott) describes things.

Claire works at a luxurious hotel and gives Anna a place to stay when her latest housesitting gig falls apart. That night, in a bar, she meets Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), a handsome Italian real estate investor. They make that instant type of connection you only find in rom-coms and share a night of wine and “getting-to-know-you.” Upon learning that Matteo has a villa in Tuscany sitting unused, and leaning in on a half-drunk offer to “come there someday,” Anna uses an airline ticket gifted to her, and heads to Tuscany to visit Matteo’s villa. 

And if that is not enough, Anna makes it to Tuscany, locates the key and breaks into the empty villa, finds an engagement ring she tries on and can’t take off, and becomes mistaken for Matteo’s American fiancée.

Again, only in the movies do things like this happen. Bailey, who could easily play a young Janet Jackson in a biopic someday, brings charm and warmth to her performance, even when Ryan Engle’s screenplay doesn’t do her many favors. Viewers will have to decide whether they go along with the wacky story Engle conceived with his wife, Kristin Engle, or pump the brakes and simply check out. Luckily, there is plenty here to like, which encourages simply sitting back and enjoying the show.

A solid supporting cast of characters helps make You, Me & Tuscany rather delightful. René-Jean Page plays Matteo’s half-brother Michael, a winemaker who embodies the brooding gaze and whispery romantic charisma that saw Page become a breakout star in the first season of “Bridgerton.” Cab driver Lorenzo (a delightful Marco Calvani) almost steals the movie as an unlikely friend and confidante for Anna in her Tuscan adventures. Toss in fun characters like Claire, Matteo and Michael’s horny sister Francesca (Stella Pecollo) and an always-watching Nonna (Stefania Casini), and there are plenty of characters who perk things up just when the movie begins to run out of steam.

Most of all, the film looks gorgeous. Cinematographer Danny Ruhlman has an incredible tableau of settings to work with and Coiro’s movie is as much a love letter to the popular tourist spot as it is to the great food, culture, and heritage of the region. 

Ultimately, this becomes a quintessential “pajamas and blanket movie” to pair with a cup of tea, a glass of wine, or comfort food of your choice. This can be that dinner-and-date-night movie with your spouse or partner, and even works as the “I want to see this with all my friends” kind of movie. 

Is this a great movie? Not exactly. Does it achieve its purpose? Absolutely. 

The audience I saw this with had a ball with the slightly raunchy humor, the engaging romantic entanglements that emerge, and the lush, beautiful visuals captured in the film. 

Sometimes, that’s more than enough.  

CAST & CREW

Starring: Halle Bailey, René-Jean Page, Marco Calvani, Aziza Scott, Isabella Ferrari, Lorenzo de Moor, Stefania Casini, Desirèe Pöpper, Stella Pecollo, Paolo Sassanelli, Tommaso Cassissa, Emanuele Pacca

Director: Kat Coiro
Written by: Ryan Engle (screenplay); Ryan Engle, Kristin Engle (story)
Release Date: April 10, 2026
Universal Pictures