The new romantic comedy “Solo Mio” (in theaters since Feb. 6) is a throwback film in many ways. One of them is that its plot revolves around getting left at the altar. Having sisters, I watched my fair share of these films growing up, which gave the impression that this was a more recurring problem than it actually was.
For one thing, no one gets married in churches anymore (it’s difficult to get cold feet when you’re ankle deep in sand). And I never actually saw a runaway bride. It was only when those sisters got married and I caught a peek at the finances involved in modern matrimony that I finally understood: the real come-to-Jesus moment arrives when it’s time to put a down deposit on a caterer.
Matt Taylor (played by Kevin James, also a producer for the film) gets no such luck, left at the altar at his destination wedding in Rome. Don’t bother wondering how Matt affords all this on his elementary school art teacher salary — romcom economics will break your brain and then your heart. Worse yet is that he can’t even get a refund for their all-inclusive honeymoon package, and Matt’s concierge tells him he has no other option but to enjoy the trip solo. (Never once is it pointed out that this shares the exact same plot with the seminal 2013 composition “Drunk on a Plane” by Dierks Bentley.)
The honeymoon package includes a group tour with other married couples and Matt sticks out like a sore thumb. A man trying to ride a tandem bicycle alone is one of the sadder sights you’ll ever witness. Two couples take particular notice: Julian (Kim Coates) and Meghan (Alyson Hannigan), who twice divorced each other and are now hoping the third time is the charm; and Neil (Jonathan Roumie) and Donna (Julee Cerda), who met as patient and therapist and are cheerfully evasive on the ethics of it all.
Both couples resolve to cheer Matt up, either out of the milk of human kindness or an effort to spare themselves from the sorry spectacle. Given their romantic histories, the advice they share is invariably terrible. But like most friendships, it is the gesture and effort that means more. They break Matt out of his shell just enough to return the flirtations of Gia (Nicole Grimaudo), the friendly and bronzed cafe owner next to the hotel.
“Solo Mio” is unique in its focus on middle-aged love, whereas other romantic comedies operate on a “Logan’s Run” theory of romance where you die at 29. Gia is nicely forthright in her advances; too many men have wasted her time before, and she doesn’t have anymore to spare. And Matt’s age really twists the knife in his predicament: It’s hard to believe you’ll find someone new past the age of 50, at which point nothing and no one is new. Gia still manages a few surprises, including a villa out in Tuscany and a rather famous uncle. (I won’t spoil who, save that he’s an opera singer and blind.)
The film benefits immensely from shooting on location in Italy, which offers something beautiful in the background of every frame. I firmly believe our birth rate has suffered by constantly shooting romantic comedies in Vancouver and suburban Atlanta, two cities with many virtues but not one of them being swooning architecture.
James, the clearest successor to the late great Chris Farley in volume and pratfall, delivers a surprisingly understated performance. There have been hints of this before — I can’t be the only one who detected some hints of quiet desperation in the likes of Paul Blart, mall cop. Here he’s allowed to play that pain entirely straight, and it hurts all the more because it’s our pal Kevin. Teddy bears aren’t supposed to cry; their job is to sop up the tears. So then who watches the watchmen?
The whole cast takes the opportunity to play against type. Kim Coates, known best for playing a real headbreaker on “Sons of Anarchy,” gets to be the comic relief in a Kevin James comedy. Jonathan Roumie seems particularly grateful to be allowed to climb down from the cross and cut loose for a bit. The wives are a bit underused, particularly Hannigan, who has more than proved her mettle in the CBS sitcom trenches. Their one-scene powwow with Matt at the villa is the funniest in the film.
“Solo Mio” was produced independently but distributed by Angel Studios, behind Roumie’s “The Chosen” and culture war behemoth “The Sound of Freedom.” They have a focus on “values-based entertainment,” which thus far has mostly manifested in saint biopics. But there’s something about the lighter touch of “Solo Mio” that makes it work better — perhaps because you can learn more when the lesson isn’t a lecture.
Kevin James is a practicing Catholic and this bleeds through in a natural way. He’s left standing at an actual altar in front of an actual priest, and later the characters say grace before a meal in an entirely unremarked manner. Religion is incorporated easily into the flow of the narrative and of the characters’ lives. I’m tired of Catholicism being diabolical or beatific at the movies, it ignores how most of the time being Catholic is plain and simply normal. I find this more useful than hagiography and frankly, a bit more palatable.
The comedy is also clean, but not squeaky. There’s nothing here that would offend kids, which isn’t to say the jokes are for them. This is an adult comedy in the proper sense, in that these are jokes written for adults. A child won’t get much mileage out of a joke about a thrice married couple and that’s OK: kids should be playing Fortnite or pushing a hoop with a stick (or whatever they do these days).
“Solo Mio” is indeed “values-based” entertainment: it just values a good time and simpler truths over didacticism.
