Are you ready for a little whimsy? From the Kinnane Brothers and Angel Studios comes Solo Mio, an old-style romantic comedy that traces a long PG-rated Hollywood lineage. Cue exotic location, engineered encounters, and goofy minor characters.
Elementary school art teacher Matt (King of Queens’ Kevin James) proposes to fellow teacher Heather (Julie Ann Emery) but is jilted at the altar of their Rome wedding.
Heather disappears, leaving only an apologetic note professing herself not ready. Confronted with losing not just the love of his life, but all his non-refundable honeymoon bookings, Matt reluctantly decides to go solo.
The screenplay from Patrick and John Kinnane and Kevin James ensures a bereft Matt encounters all sorts of awkward ‘single man on a honeymoon’ situations, though mercifully without sliding into mawkishness.
He meets two American couples – Julian and Meghan (Kim Coates and Alyson Hannigan), and Neil and Donna (Jonathan Roumie and Julee Cerda). Julian and Neil, after some brief mockery, take Matt under their wings.
More importantly, Matt also meets a delightful cafe-owner, Gia (Nicole Grimaudo), in a fairly contrived encounter, but one that makes sense later. Mind you, if you think too hard about it, nothing actually makes any sense. But hey, it’s a romcom, and the internal logic of the genre demands certain machinations.
We’ve seen this thing many, many times before, so pretty much from the opening scenes, you will know where this is headed. But park your brain (and, okay, your cynicism) and enjoy the scenery.
It’s competently co-directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane, with some elegant camera work and framing. No scene overstays its welcome, and Jared Fadel’s evocative cinematography will leave you contemplating a plane flight. Andrea Bocelli appears, befitting the Italian travelogue vibe (and there may be a little singing).
Still, for a film about heartbreak and potential new romance, the film spends an inordinate amount of time on Matt’s newfound, at times unwanted, relationship with Neil and Julian. It’s here that the script’s shortcomings are most apparent. They’re simply not funny enough characters – there’s no bite.
Neil could be more neurotic (he married his therapist for goodness’ sake) and Julian less manically flippant. Roumie and particularly Coates try hard, perhaps too hard, to create believable characters, but they’re up against it. Both Cerda and Hannigan, as their respective wives, are underused, and I’m pretty sure the film wouldn’t pass the Bechdel test.
Some of the later scenes, where characters seemingly appear just for plot points, are underdeveloped or just plain odd. There’s a long shot of Bocelli mounted on a strapping black stallion in the middle of nowhere that is beautifully composed, but an obvious indulgence. The film feels as though the screenplay has spent too much time on the middle act and needs to hustle to wrap up inside 100 minutes.
Nevertheless, Solo Mio succeeds – largely on the casting of the two leads, and in particular, James’ performance. Stepping into a leading role, James keeps the pathos light but heartfelt, and his self-effacing, sincere turn grounds the film. As Gia, Grimaudo is also very good, evincing a sparky vibrancy that plays well against James’ lovelorn, shy Matt. They’re pretty good together.
Solo Mio is an agreeable and undemanding watch. It’s light and airy, and for the most part avoids Mamma Mia corniness. There are no sweary, nasty people. Loose ends are tied up sweetly. Even the ‘villain’ Vincenzo (Giancarlo Bartolomei) has a (very) short redemptive arc. It’s PG romcom tosh of course, but James and Grimaudo give wholehearted performances, the scenery is truly lovely, and the film is like a warm bath – somewhere to luxuriate and forget the real world for a short while.
Solo Mio opens nationally in cinemas from 26 February 2026.
Website: https://rialtodistribution.com/film/solo-mio/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/solomiomovie/ and https://www.instagram.com/rialtodistributionau/
Watch the trailer:
Film details:
Title: Solo Mio
Directors: Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane
Cast: Kevin James, Alyson Hannigan, Jonathan Roumie, Kim Coates, Nicole Grimaudo
Country of Origin: United States
Duration: 96 mins
Rating: PG
Check your local cinema websites for screenings:
