There’s a reason that gossip is a constant temptation. There is something tantalizing about knowing the latest twists and turns. It tickles your brain, makes you sit up, turn to the person next to you, and say, “Guess what just happened?”
Netflix’s latest rom-com, “La Dolce Villa,” finds a guilt-free way to satisfy that urge.
From the film’s opening moments when Eric Field, played by Scott Foley, arrives at the train station of a rural Italian town to its final moments set at the same train station, there is always something juicy going on.
Eric has flown across an ocean because his daughter has decided to buy a home in a rural Italian city as part of a program where young people are enticed to struggling European towns by offering them an abandoned home for the price of one Euro.
Eric’s daughter Olivia fresh out of college, otherwise purposeless, and in pursuit of connection with her late Italian mother, has decided to take advantage of the program. Her dad has decided he must stop her.
That is, of course, until he meets the mayor, Francesca, who is showing Olivia the options around town.
“La Dolce Villa” is your formulaic meet cute, and from the first time they meet with Eric, accidentally insulting her city in front of her, I set a stopwatch until they would kiss. But the several brushes and near misses along the way still had me whooping and groaning. “Oh, so close.” “You wouldn’t believe why they can’t be together now!” “He said what?”
The backdrop of the simple romance plot is Eric learning to love the slower pace of the town, and re-embracing his roots as a chef before he took a job in corporate restauranteering to raise his daughter. He is building a new relationship with his now-adult daughter. And she is discovering what her passion and place in the world is.
The film is a fantasy. It’s pastoral. Everyone in town has cute jobs, with wonderful views. For a town so desperate to bring people in they’d sell houses for a dollar. There is no poverty, no despair, no want.
The biggest problems the town has are what backsplash to put in the kitchen remodel and the fact the city clerk has a crush on the mayor when we all know the mayor is supposed to fall in love with the handsome American.
“La Dolce Villa” is too easy to be a good movie. But it’s a perfectly pleasant one. It’s good people making good choices and having good things happen to them. Scott Foley is perfect for this material, and Italian actress Violante Placido elevates it. The movie does exactly what it’s supposed to. You’ll roll your eyes, but you’ll probably be smiling while you do.
It is rated TV-PG, though we do see a couple in bed together. It certainly won’t appeal to the tastes of most kids under twelve or so, but it’s harmless enough. If I watched it with my kids around, I’d probably ask them about Olivia’s decision-making, and how we can find purpose. I’d ask about how Eric and Francesca’s relationship develops and what you should look for in a partner.
Two and a half out of five stars. “La Dolce Villa” premiered on Netflix on Thursday, February 13, 2025, just in time for Valentine’s movie night.
