This is a tough trade-off. On the one hand, I want all the Kristen Bell I can get. On the other, I’d be happy to never see another Mark Steven Johnson film. So what to do when the Bell takes a leading role in a romantic comedy directed by the man who’s made two of the worst superhero movies to date?
I suppose I should be grateful that Johnson didn’t write the insipidly titled When in Rome, but it’s not like the dynamite scriptin’ duo of David Diamond and David Weissman (The Family Man, Evolution) are much of an upgrade. Worse, this is likely the film that will determine whether Bell is a bona fide movie star or just another television cutie who can’t make the leap. Maybe mainstream audiences (i.e. the dipshits who flocked to Fool’s Gold last weekend) will find charming the idea of a woman who steals coins from Rome’s famed “fountain of love” only to be courted aggressively by a bunch of lovestruck bachelors (whose coins she purloined). Sounds utterly mechanical to me. But I’ll endure it for ninety minutes of Bell because I am a deeply troubled man.
When in Rome is set up at Disney, and will probably begin shooting this April. Man, I hope Forgetting Sarah Marshall is really, really good.