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This message comes from Capella University. That spark you feel, that's your drive for more. Capella University's flexpath learning format lets you earn your degree at your pace without putting life on pause. Learn more at Capella Edu.
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You're listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour, the podcast that keeps you plugged in about the latest and greatest in movies, tv, music and more. And if you're a pop culture junkie who's not following the show yet, we're, we're recommending you fix that right now by following Pop Culture Happy Hour on your favorite podcast app. Next week we're gonna be talking about a new Netflix show from the co creator of Schitt's Creek and catching up with some great TV we missed. So make sure to listen. And now on to you, Me and Tuscany. She came for the pasta and got lost in the sauce. That is the brilliant tagline for the zesty new rom com, you, Me and Tuscany. The movie stars Halle Bailey as a broke 20 at a crossroads in life. So she decides to fulfill a dream and fly to Tuscany on a whim. There she meets a hot winemaker played by Reggae Jean Page. But this is an old school rom com with classic rom com machinations. So as you can probably guess, it'll take at least a three course meal and a few vinos to get these two beautiful people together. I'm Ayesha Harris and today we're talking about you, Me and Tuscany on Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. Joining me today is NPR producer Cory Antonio Rose. Welcome back, Cory Antonio. Ciao, ciao, ciao. Also with us is the former host of Slate's Internet culture podcast, icymi, and former Pop Culture Happy Hour producer Candice Lim. Welcome back to you, Candace. Hello, hello, hello. Ciao, bella. Ciao bella. All the things, all the things. So in youn, Me and Tuscany, Halle Bailey plays Anna, a young woman who's abandoned her dreams of becoming a culinary chef after the death of her mother. Now she's a house sitter for New York's super rich. But the work has dried up. She has a brief encounter with an Italian real estate bro passing through town who's named Matteo. He's played by Lorenzo de Moore, and he inspires her to take a big life, swing, and fly to Tuscany.
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I'm using the ticket my mama already
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bought me and I have $535 in my savings account.
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$500? Yup.
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B
It's enough.
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A
It's not enough. You were the one who's telling me I need to start living my life
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B
I meant making small, proactive changes, like
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fixing your credit score, making a hinge account.
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B
When she gets there, she reminds me, remembers that Mateo owns a villa he doesn't live in because he's estranged from his family. So, as any totally normal person would do, she tracks the place down, breaks in, makes herself at home. The rest of the movie adds up to a very convoluted comedy of errors. Mateo's family members discover Anna at the villa and are led to believe she's his fiance they've never heard of. Most of them are extremely excited because it means Mateo will finally be returning home. And then there's cousin Michael, played by Reggae Jean Page. He runs the family vineyard, and he is very, very ridiculously good looking. What could possibly go wrong? You, me, and Tuscany is in theaters now. Candace, did you get lost in the sauce?
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I came for the pasta. Got lost in the rigatoni. Hell, yeah. I love this movie. I think this is a perfect movie. Like, I have no notes. And I will say, I think this movie is so playful, and I felt that from the beginning of the marketing. Fun fact. Did you guys know that this was originally supposed to be called Italiana? Sit with that. Sit with that.
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B
Ah, yes, yes.
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A
I really do love this movie. I think that it reminds me a lot of Marry Me, you know, the J. Lo movie with Owen Wilson, which is ironic because it's directed by the same person, Cat Coiro. And I love how whimsical and how fantastical and how there are so many parts that are so just, like, delusional. Would never happen, especially as a woman traveling solo in Italy. However, I'm not mad about it. And we could have the argument that it's because of the state of the world. I would also make the argument like, is it really that bad to have a rom com that kind of pushes the cheese to a point where you're kind of like. And we all went home happy for the day. I'm into it. I'm into it.
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B
Yeah, I concur. But, Cori, Antonio, I need to know sauce. Were you lost?
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C
Oh, yeah. This was a good old plate of shrimp Alfredo for me. My own romantic life is in shambles right now, so I really just needed a good, heavy dose of escapism. And this film lifted my feet off the ground just high enough to have hope in the carousel of terror that is the dating pool. And Halle Bailey is an actress that. I mean, I could watch her paint a picture like Bob Ross for five hours, and I would be enthralled. But just having her in these settings with these characters. Like, is she carrying the film in the way that the Little Mermaid was a strain on her back? No, not quite. But she doesn't need to because the ensemble cast is so strong. They're so easy to fall in love with. And at the end of the day, you don't end up caring about the central romance as much as you do this family coming together and her finding this place of belonging, which I thought was just so heartwarming. Like, wow, I needed that romance. I need that story. And this was a really good time
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B
for me, I have to say. I went into it and it started off a little. I was just like, I don't know, man. First of all, how am I watching this movie in a theater? Why is this not on streaming right now or on a plane?
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A
It's peacock coded.
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B
Yeah. And it feels like a throwback to circa early 2000s, mid 2000s Rom coms where you have, like, Gabrielle Union or someone like that. Very thick.
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C
Like a man coded.
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B
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
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C
It was giving me Jumping the Broom.
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B
Yes, Jumping the Broom. I remember that movie with Paul Patton. Yeah.
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C
That also had a little racial diversity going on in it.
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B
It did. It did. I saw Jumping the Broom in theaters. I remember that. That was also very fun.
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C
Oh, wow.
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Aisha.
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C
You were there for the writing of history,
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B
and maybe it's just the state of the world, but I was not in the mood at first. And then as the movie progressed, I just kind of gave into it and was like, okay, yeah, I'm along for this ride. This is sweet. Does she have, like, a fairy godfather sort of here who's played by Marco Calvani. He plays Lorenzo in this film, who's like, this very enthusiastic, very hyper cab driver who basically becomes her chauffeur. Does she pay him? I don't know. They talk about a price, but I.
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C
The first €30 was the payment, and then after that, he was along for the plot.
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B
He was along for the plot.
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Invested. He was invested.
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B
I kept looking at him the whole time. I was like, oh, my goodness, why do you look familiar? And then I realized he played Colman Domingo's husband on the Four Seasons last year, the Netflix show. Those Four Seasons, I was like, oh, that's where I know you from. He was a delight. Claire, who's played by Aziza Scott, who is her bestie back home, who we heard in that earlier clip, she's the other sort of, you go, girl. You do what you gotta do. But she's also kind of like the lil Rel Howery in Get out, where she's like, what are you doing? You're a black woman in Italy. Don't get murdered.
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Right. Perfect conditions for my friend to get kidnapped.
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B
Okay. It's meant to be. It's just one of those movies. Like, as it progressed, I just kind of got swept away with it, just like you. It became sort of just this nostalgia trip. Because, again, it feels so. Not of this time period. Even of modern rom coms, it feels not modern. Don't you have a girlfriend or something? Mr. Handsome Winemaker in Tuscany?
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C
Most of the men here are handsome winemakers.
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B
I mean, this movie gives the people what it wants, what you want. And what we want is to see him shirtless in a vineyard. Not the rain, but in a sprinkler. Vineyard. Sprinklers. And doing so because he needs to save her edges. Go see the movie. You'll understand what I mean when I say that. It's so charming. I mean, I guess part of my hesitation while watching this was like, this wouldn't happen. This wouldn't happen. She's a black woman. Would these people really embrace her in that way? Especially in Italy, where, look, there are places that have issues with race. Italy is one of them. I've been there. I have not been to Tuscany, but I've been to other parts of Italy. It's not always the most welcoming, embracing, opening place for black people to go. But then it kind of explains it with reggae Jean Page's character and the fact that he's like, the cousin brother. I don't know. I'm curious how that played for you. That the racial dynamics that weren't really there, but were.
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C
I mean, on one hand, going in, I knew that from the tone of the marketing, from the tone of the act in the trailer, this was gonna be a film where there was no issue with her being this black woman traveling alone in Italy. And so I was down for it. I was down for the whimsy. I was down for the fantasy. I love to not have to worry and not have to clench my teeth. I also had this moment watching the film where I was like, when we saw Michael come sit down with the family for dinner, I was like, oh, so they're loving on her because they are used to seeing black people.
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B
Right, Right. And that was helpful for me in
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this small town where everybody knows them. Perfect. It's kind of perfect, though. Like, I don't know.
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A
Yeah. No, there's definitely a question here about kind of, like, the stakes of this film even existing Right. I was thinking a lot about how director Nina Leigh, like, before the film came out, she went, like, on social media and said that basically she has this movie that she worked on with Coco Jones. It's, like, ready to go. It's ready to be set. But a lot of executives allegedly were telling her, we're not going to buy her movie until we see how Yumi and Tuscany goes. That's a lot of pressure to put on Halle Daly.
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B
So much pressure.
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But at the same time, I also think this is kind of about, like, you know, not only who gets to, like, make a film like this, but, like, how fantastical and realistic can you be? Like, is it possible to just kind of, like, enter a rom com and be like, this is kind of what I imagine, like, romantic comedies look like today. Let's take out kind of the socioeconomic pressures that other people may feel. And is it an escape? Is it okay to escape? I think there are some people who will walk into this and being like, well, I wanted to see myself. I went to Tuscany. This happened. Da, da, da, da. And it's like, well, I. You know, sometimes it's okay to just, like, head off and just kind of, like, be in a delusional state for a little bit and then use that to kind of make the films that you really want to see.
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B
I love that framing of it of, like, asking yourself, is it okay to escape? Because I think that is subconsciously what I was thinking to myself while watching this. Because I know for a fact that I'm often thinking about these things, even when, like, it probably doesn't serve me emotionally to be doing so. And so I love this movie. It took me a minute to get there, but once I got there, I was like, you know what? It's really okay. Like, it's all right. What I have loved at least, like, a little bit more, even just, like, a little joking. Like, there's a moment where everyone in the town is like. It's literally like little town. It's quiet. And there's a moment where she's, like, walking through town, and all these strangers are like, hey, Anna. Hey, Anna. And she's like, how does everyone know me? And I was expecting her to be like, well, you're the only black woman here, right? Like, just something funny like that. And instead it's just like, oh, it's a small town. I'm like, okay, there were opportunities, but very small. Small thing. I think also, it just helps that overall, it's not just the racial aspect of this movie that is completely fantastical. It's like everything that's completely fantastical, like, the fact that she is in this person's home, and then they just immediately welcome her. They have no idea who she is, and they're estranged from Mateo and they're planning all this, but they're never wondering. Like, well, Mateo hasn't contacted us. Like, the only person who's suspicious is no. The whole time, I loved her. She's played by Stefania Cassini. And Nona just always has a stank face because she's like, I don't trust this woman. And I was like, that would be me, too, Nona. That would be me, too. And I loved those little moments. Like, the family was just fun. My audience was very into it. And Candace, I think you were talking earlier. Your audience was very into it too, right?
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Oh, yeah. I noticed that this was a press screening that I found very significant in that one. It was definitely a more diverse audience, but also it was an older audience. It was a lot of, like, older women who clearly came up in the age of the Julia Roberts rom com. And they were hooting and hollering. And I actually thought that was interesting because it made me question, like, are they the target audience over me? Because my whole thing is that, look, I have talked to a few of my friends about this. I have friends who have apprehensions about reggae Jean Page as an actor.
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Hello. Hi, Cory. Corey.
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It's because they're like, he left Bridgerton Season 1. There were some hard feelings. He tried to, you know, have a real movie career, and this is his moment to kind of test if he has a litmus for, like, you know, the general audience. I still love him. Some of my friends do not. But I thought he kind of nailed it, and I'm still into it.
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B
Cory, how do we feel about reggae?
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Speak on it.
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C
It's just like, a handsome face does not chemistry make. And I feel like there were moments that we were expected to rely on the handsome face, the charm, the six to eight pack.
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B
Yeah.
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C
And there were definitely sparks in the film. I definitely, really loved the scene where they are, like, getting drunk off of his own wine supply and having their little date moment. I thought that was really cute. But when I'm watching a rom com, I'm looking for that first impression from a leading man. I think I sat in this very chair when we watched One of them Days and talked about how Patrick Cage. And the second he walked on screen, I was like, okay, yes, this is leading man. There is chemistry. There is gas in the tank to go somewhere. It was a very slow start and a very slow build between Michael and Anna for me.
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B
Yeah, I definitely see that. I think I'm still yet to be blown away by reggae Jean Page, but I see the potential. Like, I thought he was quite good in Black Bag, the Steven Soderbergh movie from last year. He has a little bit more room to play. You hope in these types of movies that you can get people who can transcend the material. Cause, like, we're not reinventing the wheel here, and it's fine. Like, there are funny moments. There are clever moments. There are moments where I'm just like, these Italian people know this slang. Like, here's the tea. Okay. I don't know about that. There's, like, moments where it felt a little.
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C
Mm.
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B
The issue that comes up with these things is, like, the rom com material is rarely going to be on the level of, like, a Nora Ephron. Like, it's just hard. We don't often get that. And so often we do rely on the chemistry. And Cory, I do understand that. I do think, though, like, it is a slow build, and eventually we do have those moments. I'm unlucky in love, probably end up alone. Why's that?
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C
Always fall for the wrong girl.
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I like seeing two beautiful people. That was enough for me. It worked. At the end of the day, Holly
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C
and her endless sundresses in that one duffel bag.
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B
Look, if you roll them up right, I have traveled to Italy with just a small suitcase for, like, two weeks. And it worked.
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C
It works.
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Also, she was doing laundry. Constant. Constant laundry.
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Yeah, constant. She had to be doing a lot of steaming and ironing of those things because they were all, like, linens and stuff.
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A
Like, you know what suspended my disbelief is the insane Aperol spritz. Spawn con.
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B
Wait, was that what it said on the glass? Yes, I totally missed that.
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C
It was like, aperol spritz.
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B
Oh, see, I saw the apparel spritz, but I, like, could not make out what it said on the glass.
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No, it's like a real company, and they do, like, spawn con and label out. Label out.
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B
My question is, where did homegirl find grits in Italy? Like, do they have that?
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I mean.
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I mean, I guess maybe they have polenta that's a version of grits. But I was just.
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C
Maybe she traveled with it with all
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her sundresses and that one little bit,
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C
you know, just to add some weight to it. I want to ask y', all, obviously, with rom coms, we don't need, like, the Oscar winning, deep Stanislavski acting.
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A
Sure.
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C
But how did y' all walk away thinking about Halle's acting performance in this film?
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A
I did talk to some people in the audience who were like, oh, she's pulling the Disney bag strings tonight. AKA she's bringing a lot of the Little Mermaid, like, ha, like, highfalutin voice and just very kind of like, everything's so magical. Da da da da da. I totally see it and I totally get it. And we can definitely have the conversation about whether Halle should be in movies or in the recording studio. But it kind of didn't faze me for some reason, like, I was okay with it. And I think it's just because I'm like, I'll be honest, I was always more Halle than Chloe. So that's number one. But number two is just kind of like, in a weird way. Oh, this is horrible. I do find this to be the intersection between people who watch, like, Tyler Perry movies with their grandma and people who love the Little Mermaid reboot.
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B
I'm so sorry.
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A
I'm so sorry.
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B
I can totally see that. And again, this is. This is that sort of like, fantasy that I think a lot of a certain type of. Of black filmmaking tradition world, like Will Packer, there's been sort of like in the last few years, some movies and TV shows especially, I think of like something like Harlem, where it's kind of like a reboot of like Girlfriends, Sex in the City, like that kind of era. Single women or women who are dating men who are no good for them, but living these very. They are of a certain class. And it's very like fantasy. And I think you can absolutely let yourself escape. But as people listening to this conversation can also understand, you can still have some minor critiques or questions about, you know, how that escapism plays out. And to answer your question, Corey, about, you know, Halle Bailey as a performer, again, I think the two of them, her and Reggae Jean Page, like, there is. There's a lot of charm that we're coasting on. And I don't mean that as shade. And I think that's like partially, perhaps acting abilities, but also just like, again, this is not Shakespeare. This is not. The material is not. There's only so much you can do with that. So that's all I'll say about that.
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C
Yeah, I mean, there's something there about her playing in the Disney bag because I was like, there are moments in this film that are really resonating with me. I really understand how destabilizing it can be to lose a parent in your 20s. And I thought that that was something that she really tapped into. But that is also squarely within Disney Princess territory.
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B
Oh, absolutely.
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C
Now the despair and desperation of being flat out broke in another country with no prospects, nowhere to sleep, no nothing. I didn't get that from her. And that's not within Disney Princess territory.
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B
Even more so, I did have a moment where I was like, oh, this is kind of pulling from. To speak of Disney. It's kind of pulling from Princess and the Frog. Cause, like, part of that motivation in that movie of Tiana is that her father has passed, and she's, like, trying to open this restaurant, and she's like, basically, like, they're both chefs or wannabe chefs. Like, you can see it. You can definitely see it. And I'd be curious to see how Halle is able to maybe eventually transition. She's got time to, like, figure it out. She still looks extremely young. So, in fact, sometimes maybe too young for Reggae Jean page, who is 12 years or senior. Yeah, I agree.
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C
But there's a lot of makeup in them. Sunny scenes in the vineyard.
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B
I will say this movie looks beautiful. It is gorgeous. This is a movie that if you just let yourself go, you will get lost in the sauce. I think we all did try and go see it in a theater. I was skeptical about it, but it was kind of fun to hear other people's reactions to it. But also, it feels like a perfect plane movie. It feels like a perfect at home, cozied up in a blanket with preferably Italian wine and some cheese. So much fun. It was a fun little escape. And up next, we're going to be talking about what's making us happy this week. Can't wait for that.
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Evergreen trees are Pacific Northwest icons in journalism. An evergreen story isn't tied to one news cycle. It goes deep and helps you understand the world. The Evergreen is also a podcast from OPB about the Northwest. I'm Jen Chavez. Listen to the Evergreen podcast from OPB every Monday, part of the NPR network.
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B
And now it's time for our favorite segment of this week and every week. What's making us happy? Candice, tell us what is making you happy this week?
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I'm very excited about this one. What's making me happy is a new show called Love Overboard. Have either of you guys heard about this?
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C
No, I have not.
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B
I have heard about it, but tell me more, because I don't know much about it.
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A
Aisha, you are gonna love this. So Love Overboard is a reality Dating show where a bunch of singles spend the summer on a yacht in Malta. And it starts off a little love island y where like, some people, they kind of group themselves into four couples and they live their best life on this yacht. Those who are not coupled up, the singles, they end up getting sent downstairs to work on the yacht. They clean. They clean the toilets. That is literally their job.
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B
What in the upstairs downstairs is this?
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A
Uh huh. Yes. And it becomes full below deck. And the whole goal of the game is to go from a downstairs person to an upstairs person. And the way to get upstairs is you have to homewreck one of the couples. Like, you have to break one of them up, up, replace them. And then the person who ends up, like, getting booted out has to walk a plank and basically get thrown to the ocean.
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B
And talk about metaphors for the way our entire society treats single people. But. Okay, exactly, go on.
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A
Exactly. And I think this show actually does something very interesting where the rule is that, you know, let's say you are a downstairs person, you fall in love with another downstairs person. You cannot go up simultaneously, however you can plot and to break up two separate couples and like, bring the other person up. And I think this show is just about how quickly class mobility can really change you and, like, shift within you. Like, you know, one day you're cleaning the deck and then on day two, you're ordering aperol spritzes and how quickly you can, like, get there. This show is hosted by Gabby Windy. She does a very good job at
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B
just being Gabby Windy of traitors fame. Well, that's how I know her.
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A
Yes.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And she does a very good job of being, like, sarcastic and biting and she makes one of the guys, and I love it. And so then, yeah, I'm gonna recommend love over bor on Hulu.
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B
Oh, my goodness. Okay, first of all, I think every reality dating show is about class and race and all these other things. But also, I'm probably gonna check this out. Okay, thank you, Candace. I'm so embarrassed to say it.
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A
You're gonna love it, Aisha. I really mean it. I really mean it.
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B
Thank you, Candice. Corey, what is making you happy this week?
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C
What's making me happy is this week's Broadway debut of the Jellicle Ball. Cats has been revived through the lens of the ballroom scene in New York City. And it is just a hoot and a holler. I saw this production when it was off Broadway. It was an astounding time. You know, the running joke about cats for decades has been Nobody knows what it's about. Doesn't make sense.
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B
Boring.
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C
La la la la la. These people took that story and really embodied it and grounded it in something real, something tangible. And there's just something so magical about the theatricality of ballroom and being in that space and being on the stage translated. It feels right. It feels good to my soul to see just old circles come back again. Like, it feels very Sankofa coated.
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B
I love it.
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C
And it's a lovely collaboration between Broadway veterans and ballroom veterans. And I think it's where art should be going.
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B
I love it.
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C
And if you can't go see the show, then go look at some voguing clips on YouTube. Check out the icon, Yolanda. That's my recommendation.
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B
All right, so that's Cat Cats, the Jellicoe Ball on Broadway. I'm hoping I get to see that when I'm in New York next, because I do not like cats. I absolutely despise it. But I will absolutely take a reimagining of it that makes it actually fun. So thank you for that recommendation, Corey. What is making me happy this week is that Robyn is back. She is finally back. Robyn just dropped, well, recently dropped a new album called Sexistential, and it's her first album in eight years, and she has not lost her edge. She is still weird, she is still quirky. She has a sense of humor. But this time she's a mom. She's doing these house and dance club bangers, but they're also about, like, being on Raya while on IVF and having, like, hormonal rants on Instagram and scrolling while breastfeeding. Like, like right now, though, my favorite song is Talk to Me. I love it. And I love the fact that she can still be playful and fun. So Robin's album Sex, essentially, definitely give it a listen.
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C
There's nothing like a Robin bpm. There's nothing like a Robin bpm.
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B
I know, I know. So that is what's making me happy this week. And that brings us to the end of our show. Cory, Antonio Rose, Candice Lim, thanks so much for being here. Ciao bella. A la la la.
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A
Bueno note. Thank you.
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C
Till the next.
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B
This episode was produced by Liz Metzger, Hufsa Fathoma, and Mike Katsif, and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thanks for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. If you're not already following the show, do that right now. I'm Aisha Harris, and we'll see you all next week.