This past weekend, we got our first studio rom-com in a while: You, Me & Tuscany. The movie starring Regé-Jean Page and Halle Bailey may have had a bummer of a debut at the box office weekend against the commercial giant that is The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but it’s sure been a crowd-pleaser among those who’ve seen it. I enjoyed the new release myself, but I have to talk about one thing I wish didn’t change. Its title!
What Was The Original Title Of You, Me & Tuscany?
Before the movie was You, Me & Tuscany, it was called Italianna when Deadline reported the project was in motion a year ago. From the outside looking in, I can see why they changed the title because the final title sounds a lot more outwardly like a romantic comedy, which I’m sure Universal wanted to have people aware of when marketing took place. At the same time, I don’t think the title makes much sense to the movie itself, if I’m being honest.
Why I Prefer It To The Final Title
Now that I’ve seen You, Me & Tuscany, I have even deeper thoughts about why I wish they had kept with the original title they started out with. This is where we get into SPOILERS.
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You, Me & Tuscany is a romantic comedy, of course, but I think its biggest strength revolves around how Bailey’s character, Anna, finds where she belongs and processes some of her grief regarding the loss of her mom on her trip to Italy. Sure, it’s about her falling in love with the hot guy from Bridgerton, but the only reason it becomes a romance is that Anna really wanted to go to Italy for the longest time, and she finally makes the leap after meeting Matteo. You, Me & Tuscany is kind of an odd way to describe the movie. Especially since two men are involved in the romantic plot.
Why Italianna is the perfect title comes down to a scene toward the end of the movie when Anna ends up making the meal with Matteo’s family and is given full approval and inclusion from Matteo’s family as a part of them and as a cook. At that moment, one of the family members calls her “Italianna”, which is the moment that hit me the hardest when I was watching it. The whole moment was underlined to me because I knew the movie first as Italianna, and I knew the official reason why.
But there are more layers to that. Her name is literally Anna in the movie … OK, maybe that’s not very deep, but I think the original title centers the movie more about Anna’s journey as a character rather than it being centered on her romance in the film, and fits the whole plot a lot better. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important that it’s a romance, but to me, the Italianna title sells it more as the Under The Tuscan Sun vibe it’s surely going for and less like the Disney Channel meets Hallmark title it has.
Sure, I’m probably nitpicking, but I genuinely do think that titles can make all the difference to movies. I have to wonder if other people feel the same way I do or not. Let me know in the comments!