Atlanta’s Halle Bailey goes rom-com in Will Packer’s ‘You, Me & Tuscany’
Atlanta native Halle Bailey, best known as the star of the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” and half of musical duo Chloe x Halle, is starring in the new rom-com “You, Me & Tuscany.”
Unlike recent Colleen Hoover adaptations like “It Ends With Us,” “Regretting You,” and “Reminders of Him,” this is a film from an original script. While the film’s producer, Will Packer has scored his biggest hits with broad comedies like “Girls Trip” and “Ride Along,” he’s dabbled in rom-com territory before with movies like “Think Like a Man” and “About Last Night.”
“But I’ve never done one like this,” said Atlantan Packer in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at St. Regis Hotel in Buckhead last week with Bailey. “This is a two-lead aspirational story in a different country.”
“You, Me & Tuscany,” which opens wide on more than 2,000 screens this weekend, provides a touch of that “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” escapist vibe with the family dynamics of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” (As an Easter egg, Packer brought in “Greek Wedding” star Nia Vardalos for a small role as an angry homeowner.)
Packer chose Bailey, whose sister Chloe starred in the 2023 Will Packer musical comedy “Praise This,” as Anna, a New Yorker and would-be chef who shelves her ambitions after her mother dies.
“Halle has the potential to be like a Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock who can connect with an audience even if her character is a mess,” Packer said. “She also has a knack for physical humor.”
Booted from her home-sitting job and homeless, Anna meets the mysterious Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor) at a bar. He owns a villa in Tuscany he has not lived in for years, and Anna coincidentally has a plane ticket to Tuscany. Unbeknownst to Matteo, Anna impulsively flies to Italy and, without a place to stay, breaks into his villa.
She finds an engagement ring, so when Matteo’s family shows up ready to arrest her, she pretends to be his fiancee. She also happens to meet another family member, Michael, a sexy vineyard owner played by Regé-Jean Page of “Bridgerton” fame.
Given the strictures of a rom-com, it doesn’t take a forensic scientist to guess how this will turn out.
“I could resonate with Anna,” Bailey said. “She’s lost, still finding her way but she’s brave and fiery. I also love the romance of the story, the idea of being whisked away to Tuscany. I was ecstatic to be part of this.”
Packer liked the combo of Bailey and Page to anchor the film.
“In a rom-com, you have to have people you want to take a journey with,” Packer said. “They also have to complement each other in a yin and yang sort of way. Their characters mirror their real-life personas, too. Halle in real life is spontaneous. Anna is that to the nth degree. Rege is a preparer. His character is also very structured, very didactic and by the book. The two characters need each other to truly open up and reach their full potential.”
Packer purposely cast local Italian actors to populate Matteo’s family and provide comic relief. And the movie luxuriates in the rolling hills and cypress trees of Tuscany.
“In this day of AI, we shot this on location,” Packer said. “Tuscany is a third character in the movie: the vineyard, the countryside, the food. We want people to get inspired to find their passports and fly over there.”
Bailey and Packer earlier this month attended a screening of the film at Regal Atlantic Station.
“It’s incredible to watch this movie with an audience, to hear them laugh together,” Bailey said.
“This is pure escapism in a world that is a crazy place right now,” Packer added. “The best movies are those that make you forget your problems. It’s why this works on a big screen.”
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
