You, Me & Tuscany (dir. Kat Coiro)

by Jack Martin | Apr 13, 2026

Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 105 mins

UK Distributor: Universal Pictures

UK Release Date: 10 April 2026

WHO’S IN YOU, ME & TUSCANY?

Halle Bailey, Regé-Jean Page, Marco Calvani, Aziza Scott, Lorenzo de Moor, Isabella Ferrari, Nia Vardalos

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Kat Coiro (director), Ryan Engle (writer), Johanna Byer and Will Packer (producers), John Debney (composer), Danny Ruhlmann (cinematographer), Troy Takaki (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A young woman (Bailey) journeys to Tuscany for a spontaneous romantic rendezvous…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON YOU, ME & TUSCANY?

I mean it in the best possible sense when I say that director Kat Coiro’s You, Me & Tuscany feels exactly like an early 2000s romantic-comedy. The film, like so many other rom-coms released around that time, is so unapologetic with its own fluffiness and cheesy sentiment that you could almost mistake it for a spoof of the genre, because at times it seems all too aware of itself for it to be just another straightforward example. Yet, it glides through all the expected tropes with a sunny disposition and doesn’t even attempt to be clever with any of them, instead just aiming to have as much fun with it all as possible.

As far as modern rom-coms go, it’s about as uncynical and unpretentious as they come. Does that make You, Me & Tuscany a good movie? From a technical standpoint, not really. But that hardly matters if the vibes are good enough for the viewer to enjoy themselves in spite of the silliness, and there’s plenty to enjoy for anyone just wanting something nice and cheery to watch.

The film opens with Anna (Halle Bailey), a free-spirited New Yorker who’s a regular house-sitter after dropping out of culinary school, briefly crossing paths with handsome Italian man Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor) who happens to own a swanky yet unoccupied villa in his home region of Tuscany. Convinced that they’re meant to be together, Anna impulsively flies out there with hopes of coming across him again, only to find herself taking residence at his empty villa when all the local hotels are booked up. However, a chance encounter with Matteo’s relatives – not to mention her finding and putting on an engagement ring she finds in a drawer – leads to them believing that she is, in fact, his brand-new fiancé and welcome her with open arms, creating a deception that becomes harder to maintain, especially when she meets and begins to fall for Michael (Regé-Jean Page), Matteo’s British-born cousin who owns a local vineyard.

No prizes for guessing which of Anna’s handsome suitors she ends up gravitating toward by the end, especially since they’re also the second-highest billed cast member as well as the one who shares the best on-screen chemistry with Bailey. What’s nice about You, Me & Tuscany, however, is that it’s also something of a love story between Anna and her initial love interest’s family, all of whom have a sweet and accepting nature that makes them a surprisingly endearing bunch. Ryan Engle’s script certainly paints them as one-note caricatures, almost like people you’d find in any of the sequels to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but they avoid slipping into obnoxious territory by providing genuine warmth and even a few funny moments, to where you’re won over by how well they seem to function as a happy, supportive unit. In a way, you end up being far more invested in their relationship with Anna more than you are the central romance, the latter of which seems more like a foregone conclusion for a film like this and therefore less of a surprise.

The family in this film is a strong example of why You, Me & Tuscany works despite being about as cookie-cutter as countless other rom-coms out there, especially those that were made and released a couple of decades ago. The moment it opens, Coiro’s film embraces its own heightened reality where almost everyone is impossibly chirpy and certain characters exist solely to provide meaningful life advice to our protagonist, as if it’s the only thing that matters to them. The way that it’s shot, with some overly bright cinematography and the occasional flimsy use of green-screen, almost gives it the aesthetic of a Disney live-action remake (ironic, given that Bailey is perhaps best known for headlining one a few years ago) but with far less of a feeling that it’s a mere product. So much of the film screams “vintage rom-com” in the same way that the likes of Maid in Manhattan or Sweet Home Alabama or, more appropriately, Under the Tuscan Sun once did, but Coiro and Engle both appear to recognise that their movie is what it is and wisely refrain from turning it into something that mocks or condescends towards the very conventions it’s utilising.

By letting their film just be the kind of silly and at times preposterous rom-com that it is, the filmmakers free themselves of any pretention and let loose with all the wacky twists and cloying emotions within their arsenal. Again, it doesn’t make the film a particularly great movie, for there are certain things that characters say and do which would not be so easily forgiven in a more realistic environment, while there are a few awkward inserts designed to give some of the background actors an uncomfortable amount of space to ad-lib some random reactions (most of which are reserved for the end credits, thankfully). But there’s something so confident about You, Me & Tuscany in how it feels perfectly content with being such a mindless rom-com that makes it hard to resist, especially when it comes with charming lead actors, some endearing characters and, of course, enough pristine shots of the Tuscan countryside for it to also function as an advert by the Tuscan tourism board.

It’s a miracle that it works at all, even if it’s about as generic as we’ve come to expect from this type of movie.

SO, TO SUM UP…

You, Me & Tuscany overcomes its generic rom-com formula and occasionally odd filmmaking choices with a sincere charm about itself which, thanks to charismatic performances and endearing supporting characters, makes it surprisingly fun despite its obvious cookie-cutter nature.