La Dolce Villa 2025 Movie Review
La Dolce Villa is the latest in a long line of low to mid-budget romantic comedies sold to Netflix by no-name studios (In this case, DAE Light Media and Front Row Films) that have become a shockingly massive part of the streamer’s overall output. But this does happen to be a case where the romantic film in question arrives just in time for the holiday of romance: Valentine’s Day.
This is purely a coincidence though, as the film’s plot has literally nothing to do with February 14, instead focusing on an unlikely romance in picturesque Italy. But does this story have more than beautiful scenery and the current air of romance to make it worth seeking out amidst an ocean of competition? Let’s see if we can figure that out.
Our story centers on a former chef turned corporate restaurant consultant named Eric, played by Scott Foley; who’s traveled from Columbus, Ohio to the small fictional town of Montezara, Italy to try and stop his daughter Olivia from buying a one-euro villa. However, Olivia is determined to buy and fully renovate the villa as a fresh start in her overall directionless life.
Eric stays in Italy to help with the renovation alongside a local contractor named Nino, played by Simone Luglio, and the town’s mayor Francesca, played by Violante Placido; who sees the one-euro villa program as a potential boon for Montezara’s economy. And while Eric has his doubts at first, he slowly becomes more involved and enthusiastic as he becomes closer with his daughter, Francesca, and Italy itself.
Anyone expecting anything groundbreaking or subversive from La Dolce Villa should remind themselves that this is a straight-to-streaming romantic comedy wherein the biggest name in the cast is the guy from Scandal and Scream 3 and adjust their expectations accordingly. Indeed, most of the modest budget was seemingly spent not on big-name stars or elaborate set pieces, but on location shooting in Italy itself. Admittedly, it’s a move that paid off as the cinematography and shot composition capture the beauty of the country quite effectively.
As for the film itself, the script and overall production feel about on par or maybe slightly above the average Hallmark movie, though they are an improvement over director Mark Waters’ previous Netflix effort: last year’s aggressively mediocre Mother of the Bride. Characters frequently speak in exposition, any and all conflict arises from cliche misunderstandings, and the only reason the repetitive and twee musical score won’t drive you completely insane from over-intense listening is that Italian Riviera-style music is simply more pleasant to listen to than the synthesized instruments typically used by Hallmark.
But with all that said, I can’t say in good conscious that I particularly disliked La Dolce Villa. The relationships are indeed basic, but the characters are very charming, and I found myself genuinely rooting for them by the end in both romantic and personal terms. It’s not laugh-out-loud funny but I did find myself smiling throughout and not even the worst jokes ever made me groan. And I really appreciated how the film makes time for backstory and side characters that flesh out the world and make Montezara feel like a real town with its own history and culture. It may not be much, but it’s definitely more than I expected and more than anyone had to do.
Aside from the beautiful backgrounds and aforementioned world building, La Dolce Villa is not particularly exceptional even within its own “turn your brain off” rom-com fluff sub-genre (I’ll take Hallmark’s Friends & Family Christmas over this any day of the week). It does exactly what it says on the tin: a comfort food, trope reliant romantic comedy that you’ve already seen and enjoyed a million times before. Nothing more, nothing less.
But sometimes, especially with how stressful the real world is lately, all you need is a little over 90 minutes of gorgeous Italian countryside while attractive-looking people who also happen to be relatively talented actors do the best they can with the most basic semblance of a plot. If that’s really what you need right now, and it’s completely valid if it is, then you could certainly do a whole lot worse than this.
