Love & Gelato Parent Guide

Lina (Susanna Skaggs) has just buried her mother – in a pumpkin-spice themed funeral – and now faces another daunting task. Hadley and Lina had always planned on taking a mother/daughter graduation trip to Italy and Lina is committed to carrying out her mother’s wishes. Settled in Rome with her Italian godmother (Valentina Lodovini), Lina meets two young men: Alessandro (Saul Nanni) is the scion of a wealthy banking family and Lorenzo (Tobia De Angelis) is an aspiring chef. As the genre demands, the gauche, awkward young woman finds herself being pursued by both men, meaning she has a choice to make.

Romantic dramas rarely achieve anything cinematically. They tend to be predictable, with stock characters and pre-ordained happy endings. Love & Gelato doesn’t break that mold. The film feels like a romance cliché coated in marinara sauce and sprinkled with dried out parmesan from a shaker. It’s pretty to look at but there’s no flavor. Seriously, the movie’s backgrounds are glorious, with scenes of Rome and Florence that could have been funded by Italian tourism agencies. Unfortunately, the production’s good looks are no substitute for its bland personality. Lead actress Susanna Skaggs has a limited range of facial expressions, which soon get tedious, and both of her swains simply spend a lot of time staring wistfully at her. Frankly, the biggest mystery in the entire film revolves around the source of Alessandro and Lorenzo’s fascination with Lina. I’m all in favor of the nerdy girl getting the guy, but Lina has a cringeworthy habit of throwing emotional hissy fits in public. She doesn’t check to make sure she has all the details; she simply goes off the rails and throws a tantrum when she’s angry or disappointed. Why two men are interested in a neurotic, anxiety-ridden foreigner with emotional regulation issues is never completely clear, especially since there’s no chemistry in the romantic scenes. There’s no sex, which parents will appreciate, but there’s no “zing” either, which makes this movie feel flat.

When it comes to negative content, the biggest issue in the film is profanity, with over 60 swear words and crude terms in the movie. There are minor kissing scenes (including one between two women who are married to each other) and frequent mentions of an affair that causes a pregnancy. In addition, alcohol is consumed in most social events and a main character becomes intoxicated while upset. Strangely, the movie also has two scenes where a main character steals valuable objects, and that decision is justified in the script. On the plus side, the script advocates self-acceptance, courage, exploring your talents, and standing up for yourself.

At one point in the film, Lorenzo tells a depressed Lina that “Everything is better after gelato.” It’s possible that might apply to this film – maybe it’s more fun to watch after ingesting large quantities of gelato. Whether or not you want to find out depends on your fondness for decadent desserts and your willingness to risk spending 110 minutes of your life rolling your eyes and sighing over predictable plot points.