Studio: Angel Studios
Release Date: 5/5/2026
Rating: PG
Film Grade: C+
The Story: Months ago, teachers Matt and Heather planned a dream wedding and honeymoon vacation in Italy. But there’s an uncomfortable pause as the ceremony begins; the bride’s procession music starts, but she’s not there. Frantic, Matt rushes to the dressing area, only find to find a note from Heather, stating that she can’t go through with it. The deserted groom-to-be is left with a non-refundable vacation and no bride. What is he to do?
My Take: Don’t be misled by Kevin James in the starring role; while billed as a romantic comedy, the emphasis is clearly on the romantic, with comedy being secondary. As such, it has the depth you might expect from a Hallmark or Lifetime movie, but with just a few more laughs. Part travelogue, part guys’ views on love, the inevitable central relationship develops too quickly to feel genuine.
The film is truly a family affair by the Kinnane brothers, who formed a working relationship with Kevin James on some YouTube shorts. Patrick and John wrote the script with James, Charles and Daniel codirected, and Pete did the editing. The story was born out of asking James where he’d like to film his next movie, and he said Italy. The script is built around that simple idea, with the brothers adding all of the details.
You have to give credit to James and his performance. Instead of leaning into the comedy, he plays Matt relatively straight, at times offering a genuinely morose performance that isn’t softened by jokes or one liners. He really does add some measure of depth to the story, elevating it above the superficial romance that the brothers concocted. Playing off that everyman character is Nicole Grimaudo, as café owner, Gia. Amazingly, the Italian actress doesn’t speak any English; she learned all of her lines phonetically, which never shows for even a second in the film. In one of the more authentic, and touching moments of the movie, the two spend some time at her closed café, just talking. It really evoked the early moments in a potentially budding relationship where hours feel like minutes as they just begin to really learn about each other.
The supporting cast is a lot of fun. Two other couples, on their own honeymoon packages, are sympathetic to Matt’s plight, and they practically steal the movie. Kim Coates plays the alpha male player, Jules and Jonathan Roumie is the beta male Neil. The two act as the devil and angel on Matt’s shoulders, giving him contrasting advice. Coates is marvelous in the role, with a plethora of facial expressions and some of the best lines in the film. Their two wives are played by Alyson Hannigan and Julee Cerda. While their parts are much smaller and often used to set up lines for the boys, they also get a scene that develops their characters. I’ll add that there is a special guest appearance in the movie that may be appreciated by fans of Italian culture, and the movie was actually shot on that person’s private estate.
That all sounds like a bunch of fun, and there are some truly amusing and authentic moments. Where the movie falters is with the underdeveloped parts of the story and the pacing. Some of Matt’s friends and family would likely have made the trip with him, but aren’t anywhere to be found, leaving him to find some measure of comfort with strangers. The reason for Heather’s absence is overlooked for almost the entire movie. While this is eventually tied up, it feels shallow and only there as a simple plot element. To get to that point, we have to go through various side trips that spend too much time on unimportant things or too little time developing what was needed to add emotional depth. This is most evident with the mechanics needed to add the special guest appearance, which was unnecessary to Matt’s story.
Visuals: The cinematography by Jared Fadel is sumptuous, with lots of golden light bathing the actors and surrounding vistas, giving the viewer a real feel for Italy. Skin tones and details are clear and natural. Lots of handheld camerawork lends a feeling of intimacy, while wider framing shots are used to add scope to the various settings. This is one area that raises the movie beyond a TV offering.
Audio: The disc comes with a simple 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. Music plays an important part of the movie and songs are well-presented. The score, by Joy Ngiaw, has the light romantic feel that one would expect. Dialog is clear and easy to understand. It’s a perfectly adequate presentation for this film genre.
Special Features: The 53-minute roundtable discussion features nine participants. Besides the brothers mentioned above, there’s also cinematographer Fadel, and producers Jeffery Azize and yet another brother, Brendan, who served as on of the Executive Producers. Discussions cover the origin of the movie and various production aspects, along with the history of how the brothers started young, making movies on their family farm. The disc’s commentary track echoes much of the roundtable, but with fewer participants. Notably missing from both is James, who could have added some humor.
- Roundtable Conversation
- Commentary Track
- Trailers
Final Verdict: This isn’t a bad movie, but any Kevin James fans expecting a laugh fest will be disappointed. Instead, we get a fairly serious movie with some sweetness and humor, tied down by a hokey romantic angle that feels rushed and underdeveloped. The acting is top rate, with extra credit going to Coates and Roumie, who get rewarded with the funniest lines. This is another release by Angel Studios that doesn’t feature any overtly religious themes. Other than the wedding taking place in a church, there’s no other connection to anything spiritual. Instead, they’ve focused on releasing something inoffensive and with generally wide appeal.
If you can look past the weaknesses of the script, you’ll find warm performances, great location work, and some amusing moments making it worth a watch. My wife and I enjoyed it an equal amount and it wasn’t a bad way to spend a short part of our evening. Catch it when it hits your streaming plan before buying.
Fun Line: “Oh, you’re one of those guys.”
This review was written by a human without the use of AI.My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
0 Replies
74 Views