La Dolce Villa

Synopsis: A young woman plans to renovate an Italian villa; her dad flies to Italy to talk her out of it. Dad might find love in the Tuscan countryside.

There’s nothing that brings a dad and daughter together like him trying to prevent her from buying real estate that she wants.

In La Dolce Villa twenty-something American Olivia (Maia Reficco) has traveled to Italy to buy property. She’s looking into a national program wherein a person can buy from a list of dilapidated properties. For one euro! Calm yourself; there are further conditions. New owners need to put down € 5,000 and develop the place. The buildings are in areas that could use an economic boost. So, forget about a €1 apartment on Venice’s Grand Canal.

Olivia seems to have a vague idea to convert a villa into an inn. Mostly, she wants to do it so that she can feel close to her mom, who was of Italian heritage. Sadly, her mom passed away a few years before and now Olivia is blowing through her inheritance. She has no construction or engineering experience, but this is not an obstacle in a rom-com.

In La Dolce Villa, the person who has a chance at romance isn’t Olivia. It’s her good-looking dad, Eric. Eric is played by Scott Foley, who started his career as a love interest for Keri Russell in the late 90’s series Felicity.

Eric has responded to the loss of his wife by throwing himself into his work as a restaurant consultant. He used to be a chef. But perhaps living in Ohio has thrown him off his culinary game.

Unlike most people living in Ohio, Eric is displeased to be headed to beautiful Tuscany. After arriving In Italy, he takes a train through Tuscany, sulking about being back in Italy because he once went there and lost a suitcase or something.

Eric gets off the train in the made-up village of Montezara, a sleepy, charming place. He determinedly sets out to meet his daughter at the local hotel, fixed on setting her straight. I felt like he should stay out of her business, but I agreed with Eric that her plan was probably ill-considered. Fortunately, in rom-coms these renos in the countryside always work out. If only Eric knew he was in a rom-com, his worries could evaporate.

Dad, Eric and daughter, Olivia are happy to reunite. But Eric is a real fussbudget, scolding Olivia about not keeping him up to date on her life. He also has a list of reasons for why Olivia should not buy a property.

When they go to a local osteria, and Olivia is preoccupied, Eric turns to a random woman and complains about his daughter’s foolishness in looking for a villa. He’s put his foot in his mouth because the woman, Francesca (Violante Placido), is Olivia’s real estate agent. Whoops! Francesca is a good sport about Eric’s opposition to her client’s house hunting. She’s not easily knocked off her game. After all, she’s the town’s mayor.

It’s lost on Eric that the real estate agent/mayor is a beautiful, accomplished woman of similar age. He’s too busy shaking his head at his daughter’s villa renovation scheme. Olivia finds her perfect property with Francesca and Eric.  The dad refuses to be charmed by its potential or Maltese, the cheeky goat who makes their home on the villa’s grounds.

Although still inwardly condemning his daughter’s plan, Eric offers to stay in Italy for a month to oversee the project. He hopes he can convince her to flip the place and live a more practical life stateside.

That night Olivia goes out to see friends, leaving dad on his own. Looking for dinner, he ventures from the hotel onto the nearby streets. Does he choose to pop into a restaurant to sample some local cooking and wine? No, of course not. He acts like a complete doof and buys a frozen pizza at a convenience store. Is there no hope for this man?

The next day, Eric and Olivia are off to an early start. Francesca has found them a trustworthy contractor. She’s even arranged for a friend of hers, Bernardo (Tommaso Basili ), to take care of the building red tape.

In his own way, Eric makes an effort to acquaint himself with la dolce vita. He finds a discarded old bike and begins riding it through town and country. There is so much rust on the bike that I was afraid Eric would nick himself and contract a fatal case of tetanus. Fortunately, he only crashes the bike in town. Sans helmet, he’s pitched forward about ten feet through the air, thudding onto stone pavers. Because this is a rom-com, it’s played for laughs and he’s not injured, just embarrassed.

And what of Olivia? She’s busy working the property and delighting the contractor with her ideas. There’s also a young chef in town, Giovanni (Giuseppe Futia) who is trying to pique her interest. Typically, he tries flirting with her, then she grins and walks away. I could understand his interest. The only other people their age in town are a straight couple who are always bickering. The guy tells his girlfriend that he needs to work at the cafe when she wants to go out, then she screams and breaks things. Cute?

One of the best things about La Dolce Villa is the travel porn.  When Francesca joins Eric on her non-rusty bike for a ride into the countryside, we get to see gorgeous Tuscan vistas including panoramic views near Pienza of rolling sun-drenched hills adorned with groves of native trees and squares of cultivated farmland.

Eric and Francesca start to bond over their lost loves and gelato. Eric is loosening up and listening to his daughter more. He’s even resumed cooking – with the chef who likes his daughter.

There will, of course, be complications. What about Bernardo, Francesca’s local friend? He seems to feel that he should be first in line to date Francesca because he saw her first. And Olivia starts to feel pulled in different directions.

But it’s a rom-com, so rest assured love will be consummated and villas will be restored to their former glories.

Movie Loon’s Movie Review Shortcut:

Grade:  C+

Cut to the Chase:  It’s not great, but the actors make a real effort with likable characters and the setting is bellissima/o.

Humor Highlight: The dad & daughter sing an old drinking tune “I Want to Go Home.” Why the song that the guys are singing on the boat in Jaws just before the shark takes a deadly go at them?