Netflix’s latest original romantic comedy, “La Dolce Villa,” was released Feb. 13, and while the film tries its hardest to present a complex story, the only thing truly interesting about it are the views of the Italian countryside.
The movie primarily follows Eric (Scott Foley) who travels to the fictional town of Montezara, Italy, when his daughter Olivia (Maia Reficco) informs him she will be buying and restoring an old villa that she’s purchased for €1. Worried his daughter is being scammed, Eric rushes to Italy to stop her. But when he realizes this won’t be possible, he decides to stay and oversee the renovation. Eric finds a lot more than a project, though, when he is introduced to Montezara’s mayor, Francesca (Violante Placido). Amid the background of the villa makeover, Eric and Francesca slowly begin to fall in love.
Though Montezara is a fictional town, “La Dolce Villa” was primarily filmed in San Quirico d'Orcia, Italy. The “€1 villa” program that brings Olivia there is based off a real Italian initiative. In recent years, some small Italian towns have noticed a decline in residents due to the fact that many of their younger citizens have opted to move to bigger cities instead. In an effort to keep these towns from dying out, local governments are selling old, abandoned property for €1. Though the €1 price tag is merely symbolic since many of these villas require extensive renovation efforts, it’s this idea that serves as the basis of the “La Dolce Villa” plot.
As for the story of this film, I feel compelled to note that not everything was completely boring. If there’s one thing that these cheesy Netflix films know how to do, it’s a complicated family dynamic. Typically, the characters in these kinds of films have some kind of difficult history with someone in their family, and “La Dolce Villa” is no stranger to this kind of relationship.
When we are introduced to Eric and Olivia, it’s very clear that they aren’t on the best of terms. While Eric is only concerned for his daughter, Olivia perceives this concern as hostile disapproval. We learn early on that Olivia’s mother, Mia, died of cancer several years before the events of the film; it is implied that since then the father-daughter duo has been at odds. Throughout the film, the two slowly repair their relationship and it’s actually very touching. Foley plays a typical awkward and sometimes cringey dad well, and it creates a very believable relationship between him and Reficco.
Another one of the pleasant surprises in this film was the movie’s portrayal of Italy. While not perfect and, after the amount of pasta shots they had, maybe even a little stereotypical, “La Dolce Villa” really leaned into the Italian language. The dedication is done in a way that I don’t think is seen in many of these mass-produced Netflix romances and was interesting to see. While there is a decent amount of English spoken, much of the film is actually in Italian. It’s details like this that highlight the Italian culture and feeling in this film, even if the plot is nothing to write home about.
At its core though, this movie is all about romance. Normally this would be something I really enjoy in a film. I’m of the belief that there’s nothing like a good love story to brighten your day. Unfortunately, this is not the case with “La Dolce Villa.”
The main romantic relationship in this film is between Eric and Francesca. On paper, these two characters are very similar. They’re both pretty type-A people with a strong need to help better the lives of those around them; for Eric this means helping Olivia and for Francesca, the town of Montezara. They’re also both grieving the loss of a spouse. It is revealed near the start of the film that, like Eric, Francesca lost her husband, Alessandro, several years before the film takes place.
While these similarities should work in favor of the relationship, and possibly even create some interesting plot points as they are both widows, it all falls short due to the lack of chemistry between the two. Every romantic moment felt staged and uncomfortable instead of feeling like the sweet scenes they should have been. Even their big kiss toward the end of the film was difficult to watch, it couldn’t have been more than 20 seconds and yet I felt like it lasted forever.
What’s even more disappointing is that, by spending almost the entire duration of the film focusing on Eric and Francesca, the budding relationship between Olivia and Montezara resident Giovanni (Giuseppe Futia) is ignored. Futia plays a charming young chef who is completely enamored with Olivia despite her being seemingly too cool to care. Their banter throughout the first half of this film was actually enjoyable to watch. But as soon as Eric and Francesca became a serious relationship, it felt as if this storyline was abandoned until you see them kiss at the end of the film.
Though I didn’t have incredibly high hopes going into this movie anyway, I was still disappointed by how everything turned out. If you ignore the main romance, I think that “La Dolce Villa” actually has the potential to be an interesting film — but unfortunately, that’s the heart of a rom-com.
Netflix has plenty of romances to offer, so I suggest not wasting your time with this one. And if you are looking for an Italian film to try out there are tons of those, too. A personal favorite of mine is the 2022 film “Under the Amalfi Sun” and, unlike “La Dolce Villa,” you’ll actually get the good romance you are looking for.
