Romantic comedies come in all shapes and sizes, from a teacher and a night club singer falling in love at first sight (Vivacious Lady) to a billionaire falling for the escort he hired to pretend to be his girlfriend (Pretty Woman) to a pair of executive assistants trying to hook up their bosses (Set It Up) to director Kat Coiro’s last project wherein a global superstar singer falls for a high school teacher (Marry Me). There’s no right setup for a rom-com, only the execution, which, if done right, has the audience falling in love, too. Coiro’s latest film, rom-com You, Me & Tuscany (2026), seeks to have audiences do exactly that as a meet-cute gone wrong turns into low stakes calamity into high stakes heart-throbbing. Strangely, despite a strong cast of characters and equal to the task performers, the entire experience feels like a facsimile of a rom-com rather than one which has given itself over to the genre. If, however, you’re a fan, the home release edition includes 19-minutes of behind-the-scenes materials to extend your enjoyment.
After losing her most recent housesitting gig, down-on-her luck Anna (Halle Bailey) visits her friend Claire (Aziza Scott) at work, hoping to use Claire’s “friends and family” discount for a place to stay at her employer’s hotel. As the hotel is all booked up, Anna, instead, heads to the bar where she meets Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), a real estate guy recently arrived in New York City for work. The two hit it off, but he falls asleep before anything progresses. With his words of encouragement in her ear, she finally takes the long-desired trip to the Tuscany region of Italy, one she had planned to do with her recently-departed mother. She discovers that the town she’s traveled to is celebrating a festival and there’re no rooms left. With no place to turn to, she heads to a villa she remembered Matteo mentioning was left unused, thinking sheltering there wouldn’t cause any harm. What she couldn’t predict was how she might run into Matteo’s family, accidentally convince them she is his fiancée, and begin a completely unplanned adventure in the process.
The following is based on a retail Blu-ray edition provided by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
You, Me & Tuscany is an absolute departure for the types of films writer Ryan Engle usually develops, which are usually action-based adventures (Rampage) or thrillers (Beast; Breaking In). As presented on paper, the premise is a fairly interesting extension of the kind of hyperreality hijinks audiences expect from a rom-com. Its lead is a bit of a mess (she lost her housesitting gig because she was living in the apartment and wearing the clothes of the client) who put down her dreams of being a chef when her mother passed because the two were going to open a restaurant together and being in the kitchen without her mother hurt too much. While the first is the kind of ridiculousness that helps establish why the protagonist might end up in the very situation she ends up in, the second creates the foundation of empathy which keeps us invested in her success regardless of how extreme things turn. The trick, however, is that, despite how charming Anna is and the fact that she does try desperately to do the right thing before crashing at Matteo’s (as well as wanting to come clean several times), she’s still engaged in quite the deception of a family; a deception that reaches a certain height that makes little sense in its resolution if not for the needs of the genre. The core conflict is about just how far Anna can go before the truth is revealed, all while making real connections with a stranger’s family who begin to trust her implicitly. This isn’t a particularly new concept with 1995’s Sandra Bullock-led While You Were Sleeping using a similar approach (sure, sure, 31 years isn’t brand-new, but in the scope of cinema history, it ain’t old), except it’s all resolved with about as much weight as a handwave. We’re delighted to see the right people get together in the conclusion, as well as the animosity within Matteo’s family resolved, but it’s a little *too* perfect in a way that seems akin to the way actioners are satisfied with taking down the bad guy as the closing moment of the film without any weight to the chaos wrecked moments before. The script smartly works in several moments wherein Anna tries to tell the truth (aware of the impact her deception is going to cause) and is prevented from doing so in a situationally natural way, as well as another moment that highlights the selfishness of Matteo, yet, its inevitable third-act reveal is handled so poorly, there’s no concern over whether or not the family will be able to forgive Anna’s choices. One should have that concern, one should — for even a moment — have pause as to whether or not Anna is going to have her happy ending, but when the only character who could give her the uplifting speech does, it’s played for laughs instead of sincerity and comes off as false, totally manufactured to fit the needs of the plot rather than any sense of honesty for the characters. What only adds to the frustration is the way that Coiro ensures that this turning point character is always in frame with a reaction so that an aware audience can see the arc happening silently within the louder, dialogue-driven activities around the character. It’s a smart move by Coiro that would give in dividends in terms of emotional payoff, but the handling goes for low-hanging fruit instead of dealing with the moment with sincerity, which allows a rom-com to be emotionally resonant at its lowest moment to deliver hope and positivity.
Likewise, and this might seem trivial, but for a film that features an almost-chef, the scenes of people eating food are the most ridiculous food acting I’ve seen in some time. Anna’s entire purpose for coming to Tuscany is to fulfill a dream she shared with her mother and, while she is met with one obstacle after another upon arrival, she feels delight when she comes across a specific sandwich in a shop. Of course, said sandwich is used as a meet-cute for Matteo’s cousin Michael (Regé-Jean Page), the character that Anna eventually falls for after fighting with him first, but she doesn’t know that yet, but when she gets the chance to bite it, it’s the most unbelievable thing up to this point — maybe she gets some of the innards, but no bread and no visible bite. Now, I don’t begrudge any actor who finds a way out of eating food on camera because having to do it can be a terrible experience. Food is central to Anna’s character as it’s directly tied to her relationship with her mother, the reason for coming to Tuscany, and the means by which Anna is in a prime position to help her “new family” when the plot requires it. Whether it’s watching Anna not eat the sandwich she’s been longing for or seeing Michael take one bite (though not seeing the actual bite in the bread), a sensation of phoniness creeps in that further weakens the illusion of this specific story. Characters talk about the importance of food, the significance of making meals and sharing them, yet the on-screen action doesn’t make it believable for a moment. If the film hadn’t purposefully made this a center piece of the character, it wouldn’t be a thing to focus on. Heck, if Anna were like Simply Irresistible’s Amanda Shelton (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who lacked the talent to be a cook but found it through love (in Anna’s case, perhaps by developing the skills through her budding relationship with Matteo’s cook father), then no one might notice the contradiction in being told how much food matters and then how little interaction with it there is with it on screen.
The Blu-ray and digital editions of the home release include five bonus features, each a different featurette to address a different aspect of the film. Strangely, each is fairly brief, coming off more as promotional material for the film than as an opportunity for fans of the film to really learn about the making of the film (though those moments are there). In just over three-minutes, “You & Me” focuses on actors Bailey (The Little Mermaid; The Color Purple) and Page (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves; The Grey Man) as the pair talk about their experiences and approaches to their respective characters with additional insights from producer Will Packer (Girls Trip; Beast; What Men Want). The just-over-two-minutes “Racing Through Tuscany” explores the making of the stunt sequence inspired by real Italian tradition with input from Page and de Moor (Another Simple Favor). The just-under-six-minutes “La Famiglia” allows for a showcase on the actors and their respective characters who make up Matteo and Michael’s family. The just-over-five-minutes “Taste of Italy” does exactly what it sounds like, focuses on the country and food, inviting home viewers to learn a bit more about both to understand how they impacted the story. The final featurette is “Going Green in Italy,” a 90-second featurette that highlights the efforts by Coiro to reduce waste while making films, a project that she’s working with Universal to expand further within the studio. Finally, if you’re looking for even more details, You, Me & Tuscany includes a feature-length commentary track with Coiro and Packer to enjoy.
Producer Will Packer and director Kat Coiro on the set of YOU, ME & TUSCANY. Photo Credit: Giulia Parmigiani/Universal Pictures. © 2025 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
While not reaching the heights of Marry Me, a favorite from 2022, the performances from the cast help ensure that one isn’t fully disengaged from the rom-com shenanigans. Despite the script’s best efforts to either make things predictable or unlikely, Bailey, Page, and the supporting cast keep bringing us back with their charm and enthusiasm. At the very least, the home release respects the audiences who fell in love with the film by providing a few supplemental materials to expand their viewing experience, which, in the current state of cinema, is a reason to celebrate all on its own.
You, Me & Tuscany Special Features*:
- You & Me (3:34)
- Racing Through Tuscany (2:28)
- La Famiglia (5:44)
- Taste of Italy (5:23)
- Going Green in Italy (1:26)
- Feature Commentary with Director Kat Coiro and Producer Will Packer (1:45:03)
*Bonus features may vary by product and retailer
Available on VOD and digital May 12th, 2026.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD June 16th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Universal Pictures Home Entertainment You, Me & Tuscany webpage.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Video, Reviews, streaming
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