Movie Review: Solo Mio

Are you somebody who wants to see a romantic movie this Valentine's Day season, but aren't interested in laying eyes upon all of the bawdy fully clothed hanky panky of Wuthering Heights? Well, do I have some news for you: Kevin James is starring in a PG-rated romantic dramedy called Solo Mio where he goes on his Rome honeymoon alone after being left at the altar by his fiancé (Julie Ann Emery) and ends up finding love again with an Italian cafe owner (Nicole Grimaudo). It's the perfect movie for anyone who has treated NCIS as appointment television since it first started airing back in 1832 or believes they would enjoy a big belly laugh every time James butchers the pronunciation of an Italian word he's trying to read off his phone. Mama Mia! Mangi! Bonjourno! 

As good as James is and continues to be at playing likeable everyman characters, Solo Mio suffocates his natural charm by being completely devoid of personality or stakes. His character Matt Taylor glides through his evolution from sadsack tourist who just suffered the greatest embarrassment/heartbreak of his life to man who stumbles upon love when he needed the power of true human connection the most like he's a checked bag at the airport that needs to be put on the plane before it takes off. A movie that aspires to tell a nice, warm story about finding love where you least expect it being built around a relationship this emotionally sterile is the kind of puzzling failure that gets you to question if the people that made it were more interested in taking an extended vacation to Italy than the movie that they were there to make. Alas, Solo Mio just never lives up to its mission statement of being a heartfelt romantic movie and in the process, adds yet another stain to James' shaky post-The King of Queens resume. 

Grade: C-