Italy the Stage for an Old-Fashioned Rom-Com
TORONTO – In this climate of intense political polarization, the art of storytelling has all but died. Yes, writers like Dante, Shakespeare and Hemingway imbued their work with views so political that it led to exile, heavy government scrutiny and surveillance. But while these scribes wrote about the suffering of the working class, the dangers of authoritarianism and the corruptibility of the powerful, their works were layered masterpieces.
Unlike today’s ideologue and Studio sponsored screenwriters, who write preachy propaganda films masquerading as social commentary. Whether it’s a Wizard of Oz spin off or a new Superman film, the plot is either implicitly or explicitly about immigration or social justice. Shame on me for expecting a Superman movie to be about… Superman.
Fortunately, there are signs that a turning point is on the horizon. Angel Studios’ latest release Solo Mio, is the type of affective engagement that male audiences used to scoff at, while their girlfriends cried. The “corny/wholesome” rom-coms was something I loathed twenty years ago. Today, anything that doesn’t beat me over the head with its politics has my attention.
Solo Mio for starters, is produced and distributed by the “values-based” Angel Studios, with much of its content carrying Christian themes (The King of Kings, The Chosen, The Sound of Freedom). One might expect a faith-friendly company to lean hard into evangelism with its projects, but that’s hardly the case here. Their films are neither preachy nor lightweight fare.
Solo Mio for instance is not a “Christian” movie. It’s about a middle-aged elementary school teacher (Kevin James) who’s left at the alter in Rome by his fiancé. Unable to get his honeymoon tour refunded, he vacations solo. That’s it. It’s not a mouthpiece for any disenfranchised group, or a battle cry for a revolution. It’s just a movie about a guy starting over in Italy.
And after ten years of being harangued by activist films, that’s all most people want. A break from being told to feel guilty for colonialism or for casting “the wrong” vote. In the heyday of cinema The Never Ending Story was a reference to a movie title. Today it might be used as a phrase to describe a decade of awful films made by Studios placating advocacy groups.
I would much prefer a return to original, hard hitting and provocative films that once graced our theatres. Films that shaped the artform like Citizen Kane, Sunset Blvd, Psycho, La Dolce Vita, Rocky and The Matrix – to name a few. But while the inmates are still running the asylum, that’s a bridge too far.
For now, if you just want an enjoyable, uplifting good old fashioned rom-com – set in Italy no less – try Solo Mio. It’s a date night option without explicit content that delivers exactly what it promises. No surprises, no lectures on morality and no political manifestos. Just Kevin James in Rome turning a botched wedding into an adventure. Baby steps.
Images courtesy of Angel Studios
Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix
