It\u2019s always nice when a movie exceeds your expectations. I didn\u2019t know what to expect from Solo Mio \u2013 mostly because I didn\u2019t watch a trailer or read the synopsis \u2013 but what I got is a sweet, picturesque romantic comedy that tells a simple love story more than well. In the film, Kevin James plays Matt, a warm and jovial if slightly unremarkable guy who gets left at the altar while hosting a dream wedding in Italy. Devastated by his circumstances, Matt rides a downward spiral on his way to the bottom of bewilderment and despair. What went wrong? Where did she go? Wait. There\u2019s a note. The note says she\u2019s still in Italy?! However, she wants to be left alone. Needs time to think. It\u2019s only after the owner of Matt\u2019s hotel suggests that he stay in Italy and enjoy the unrefundable honeymoon package he paid for that Matt discovers there\u2019s life after shattered love, and it\u2019s possible that someone better could come along.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m telling you right now, Solo Mio<\/a> will make you want to go to Italy. Charles and Daniel Kinnane bring their seasoned documentary chops to capturing one of the world\u2019s most enigmatic and romantic cities, capturing its beauty in ways that make the European metropolis look like a dream destination. The architecture. The nightlife. The vineyards. It\u2019s all there, and the city feels like a character in and of itself instead of B-roll filler. I could smell the coffee in the cafe. I wanted to share a glass of wine with the people.<\/p>\n Kevin James plays Matt as a mild-mannered victim of lost love. Matt walks around in dazed confusion for a portion of the film as he navigates his loss in a city filled with colorful characters and too much vino. I could not help but feel for Matt as he attempts to process his grief, a process that\u2019s interrupted by other honeymooners meddling in his affairs, including Kim Coates<\/a> as the social bull in a china shop, Julian, and Jonathan Roumie as Neil, a crunchy newlywed who married his own therapist. Coates brings a scuzzy cheer to the events as Julian, who can\u2019t lift a finger to mind his own business, but will give you the world if it would help you to feel better. Julian is on his third honeymoon with his wife, Meghan, played by a delightful Alysson Hannigan. Julian and Meghan are like oil and water, but they\u2019re always down to party, and Matt needs to celebrate! He\u2019s been given a new lease on love after all.<\/p>\n Roumie\u2019s Neil is a mixed bag. Roumie plays the part well, lending his character an awkwardness that makes him someone you want to hug and shake at the same time. Snap out of it, man! Communicate! Use your words! Still, his dynamic with his wife Donna (Julee Cerda) makes for some of the film\u2019s best comedy. They love to snipe at one another. Donna, course-correcting Neil\u2019s behavior, continues to therapize him at every turn. Usually, this would get under my skin a bit, but Neil could use a firm hand and an even stronger spine. In time, Donna will whip him into shape. He won\u2019t do it because he has to. He does it because he loves Donna and wants to make it work.<\/p>\n Lighting up the screen with an energetic and endearing performance is Nicole Grimaudo as Gia, an Italian native who finds herself falling in love with Matt after they meet in a cafe. Why would Nicole fall for a sad sack whose nuptials just went up in smoke? That\u2019s the thing. She doesn\u2019t know. Matt never got around to telling her all the details about his solo campaign in Italy. Still, as serendipity pushes Matt and Nicole together, a genuine chemistry between James and Grimaudo arises. I immediately began rooting for them. Not because that\u2019s the formula, but because I wanted more scenes with them together. Thankfully, Solo Mio delivers a cute and clever romance that never feels forced or on fast-forward. It\u2019s not love at first sight; it\u2019s enjoying each other\u2019s company, getting to know one another, that type of stuff.<\/p>\n Now and again, it\u2019s nice to watch something that doesn\u2019t require you to think, but also makes you feel good. Solo Mio was that movie for me. It\u2019s uncomplicated, includes a few surprises, and makes you feel like \u201cthe one that got away\u201d might not be the one at all. I like hopeful stories, and Solo Mio urges you never to give up in the game of love. As much as it hurts, starting over gives you a chance to reinvent yourself and become someone better.<\/p>\n As I\u2019d said, I didn\u2019t know what to expect from Solo Mio, but I\u2019m glad to have seen it. I genuinely enjoyed its light-hearted approach to Matt\u2019s story, and appreciate the efforts of the Kinnanes (and Kevin James, who co-wrote the script) to make a romantic comedy relatable, grounded, and cozy. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever get to Italy, but Solo Mio is a great way to feel like you\u2019re there, and anything is possible.<\/p>\n \n Subscribe to our weekly newsletter\n <\/p>\n![\"Solo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solo_mio_review_2-1024x538.jpg\")
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