|
Beth (Kristen Bell) gets sudden attention from Nick (Josh Duhamel) after stealing coins in a fountain in “When In Rome.” |
Just when I thought romantic comedies couldn’t possibly go lower on the quality barometer than last month’s behemoth baddie, “Did You Hear About the Morgans?,” along comes “When in Rome,” an itchy, scratchy, irritating allergen of a movie featuring a leading performance so shrill and mannered that it makes Kristin Davis’ acting talents look positively mediocre.
Kristen Bell, star of the TV series “Veronica Mars,” plays an up-and-coming New York curator named Beth. She rolls her eyes to express whimsy. She bites her lip to suggest frustration. She frowns ever so fiercely to show her displeasure.
Every gesture, every facial change has been cartoonishly overplayed, as if she were on stage in a massive theater trying to communicate her emotional state to someone in the 1,000th row.
But I don’t think it’s her fault. Bell didn’t manifest these bizarre acting tics in the TV shows “Heroes” and “Gossip Girl” or the hilarious comedy film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”
I can only assume that Mark Steven Johnson – the man who unleashed “Daredevil” and “Ghost Rider” upon our unsuspecting world – directed her that way. (Read more…)