# When in Rome (2010 film)

*When in Rome* is a 2010 American romantic comedy directed by Mark Steven Johnson, in which Beth, a disillusioned New York art curator, takes coins from a Roman fountain of love and finds herself pursued in New York by the men who threw them in. It was a [Touchstone Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/touchstone-pictures) release distributed by [Walt Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney), opened in theaters on January 29, 2010, and runs 91 minutes.<sup>[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/when-in-rome-film/)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | January 29, 2010, wide theatrical release; 91 minutes; PG-13 for some suggestive content<sup>[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/when-in-rome-film/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/When-in-Rome-%282010%29)</sup> |
| Director and writers | Mark Steven Johnson; screenplay by David Diamond and David Weissman<sup>[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_in_rome)</sup> |
| Producers | Gary Foster, Mark Steven Johnson, and Andrew Panay<sup>[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_in_rome)</sup> |
| Leads | Kristen Bell as Beth, Josh Duhamel as Nick, with Danny DeVito, Dax Shepard, Jon Heder, and Will Arnett as the enchanted suitors<sup>[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/when-in-rome-film/)</sup> |
| Box office | $32,680,633 domestic; $43,796,937 worldwide; opening weekend $12,350,041<sup>[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/When-in-Rome-%282010%29)</sup> |
| Critical reception | 16% on the Tomatometer from 109 reviews; 41% audience score; Metascore 25<sup>[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_in_rome)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/when-in-rome/critic-reviews/)</sup> |
| Literary source | A loose remake of the 1954 film *Three Coins in the Fountain*<sup>[5](https://northsideprep.org/pdf/hoofbeat/archive/2009-2010/05_feb10.pdf)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### Plot

Beth ([Kristen Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-bell)) is an ambitious junior curator at New York's Guggenheim Museum who has been hurt in love often enough to lose faith in romance.<sup>[6](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/when-in-rome/5010165.article)</sup> She travels to Rome for the impulsive wedding of her younger sister Joan ([Alexis Dziena](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexis-dziena)) and meets Nick ([Josh Duhamel](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-duhamel)), the groom's best man.<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185416/plotsummary/)</sup> After seeing Nick with another woman, she gets drunk and wades into the Fountain of Love, taking coins thrown in by people seeking love.<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185416/plotsummary/)</sup>

A local folk legend, explained by Umberto (Luca Calvani), holds that anyone who takes a coin thrown by a person seeking love makes that person fall hopelessly in love with the thief.<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185416/plotsummary/)</sup> Back in New York, Beth is pursued by four suitors whose coins she took: Al ([Danny DeVito](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-devito)), a sausage magnate; Gale ([Dax Shepard](https://www.edgepedia.org/dax-shepard)), a self-admiring male model; Antonio ([Will Arnett](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-arnett)), an adoring painter; and Lance (Jon Heder), a street magician.<sup>[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/when-in-rome-film/)</sup> Nick also pursues her, and Beth cannot tell whether his feelings are genuine or the result of a fifth coin, which may have been a poker chip.<sup>[8](https://reviews.filmintuition.com/2010/06/blu-ray-review-when-in-rome-2010.html)</sup>

The plot turns on the museum's largest annual event, the Board of Trustees' Annual Circle of Gold gala, which Beth is preparing while fearing she will lose her job.<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185416/plotsummary/)</sup> Umberto learns from his grandmother that Beth can break the spell by returning each coin directly to the man who threw it, without traveling back to Rome.<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185416/plotsummary/)</sup> When she gathers the four suitors to return their coins, she finds the coins missing; her assistant Stacy ([Kate Micucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-micucci)) has hidden them among boxes of items for the gala exhibit.<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185416/plotsummary/)</sup>

## Production

Filming took place in and around New York City, with the Guggenheim Museum among its locations, as well as in Rome; there, the fictional Venus statue by sculptor Gianni Gianese and its Fontana d'Amore were built specifically for the production in the Piazza Borghese.<sup>[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/when-in-rome-film/)</sup> It was filmed in [CinemaScope](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinemascope), and [Don Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-johnson) has an uncredited cameo as Beth's father.<sup>[1](https://d23.com/a-to-z/when-in-rome-film/)</sup> The American Humane Association gave the production its full certification; its report notes that the carriage-horse scenes were rehearsed on a closed street, that the horses were cued to walk only about 10 feet at a safe distance from vehicles, and that the doves flying from the magician's coat were computer-generated.<sup>[9](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/when-in-rome/)</sup>

Christopher Young composed the music, John Bailey was the cinematographer, and Kirk M. Petruccelli was the production designer.<sup>[10](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1185416/credits/)</sup>

## Reception and box office

The film opened in 2,456 theaters and grossed $12,350,041 on its opening weekend, 37.8% of its eventual domestic total of $32,680,633; international receipts brought the worldwide total to $43,796,937, with 74.6% of the gross earned domestically.<sup>[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/When-in-Rome-%282010%29)</sup> Walt Disney Home Entertainment released it on video on June 15, 2010, and estimated disc sales reached about $12.3 million.<sup>[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/When-in-Rome-%282010%29)</sup>

Critics were largely negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 16% Tomatometer from 109 reviews and a 41% audience score, with the critics consensus reading that "a pair of young, attractive leads can't overcome When in Rome's reliance on unfunny gags and threadbare rom-com clichés."<sup>[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_in_rome)</sup> Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 25, categorized as generally unfavorable, with 17 of 24 collected reviews negative.<sup>[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/when-in-rome/critic-reviews/)</sup> Reviewers singled out the supporting suitors as the film's weak point: the Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan wrote that the film "wastes good performances in a not-so-funny comedy," describing the four suitors as characters who fall for Beth only under the fountain's spell.<sup>[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2010/01/29/cursed-with-a-preposterous-plot/005013af-abea-44bf-ad30-7bddd8ffe56e/)</sup> [The Irish Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-irish-times) called it "overly sentimental, structurally dysfunctional and pathologically irritating" while noting its borderline-racist takes on Italian life.<sup>[12](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/when-in-rome-1.683128)</sup> Some reviews were milder: James Berardinelli of ReelViews scored it 63, writing that Bell's vivacity and Duhamel's rakish charm let viewers root for the leads despite a generic product.<sup>[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/when-in-rome/critic-reviews/)</sup>

## Place in the genre

Scholarly discussion places the film in the wave of Hollywood romantic comedies set in Italy around 2010, alongside *[Letters to Juliet](https://www.edgepedia.org/letters-to-juliet)* and *Leap Year*. A study of cinematic Rome notes that director Johnson recycles Jean Negulesco's 1954 romantic comedy-drama *Three Coins in the Fountain*, building the cityscape out of prior texts about Rome and using the opposition between New York and Rome, modernity and antiquity, to create the film's magical atmosphere.<sup>[13](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381553238_Destination_Rome_Cinematic_Cityscapes_in_Contemporary_Hollywood_Tourist_Films)</sup> A student review likewise identified it as a loose remake of the 1954 film.<sup>[5](https://northsideprep.org/pdf/hoofbeat/archive/2009-2010/05_feb10.pdf)</sup>

As of late 2026, the film streams on Disney+ in 57 countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada, but is not on a subscription service in the United States, where it can be rented or bought digitally.<sup>[14](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/when-in-rome-2010-13477)</sup>

## References

1. [When in Rome (film), Disney A to Z, D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/when-in-rome-film/)
2. [When in Rome (2010), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/When-in-Rome-%282010%29)
3. [When in Rome, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/when_in_rome)
4. [When in Rome critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/when-in-rome/critic-reviews/)
5. [When in Rome... Watch better movies, The Hoofbeat, February 2010](https://northsideprep.org/pdf/hoofbeat/archive/2009-2010/05_feb10.pdf)
6. [When In Rome, review by Brent Simon, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/when-in-rome/5010165.article)
7. [When in Rome (2010), Plot summary, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185416/plotsummary/)
8. [Blu-ray Review: When in Rome (2010), Film Intuition](https://reviews.filmintuition.com/2010/06/blu-ray-review-when-in-rome-2010.html)
9. [When in Rome, American Humane](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/when-in-rome/)
10. [When in Rome (2010), credits, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1185416/credits/)
11. [Cursed with a preposterous plot, The Washington Post, January 28, 2010](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/style/2010/01/29/cursed-with-a-preposterous-plot/005013af-abea-44bf-ad30-7bddd8ffe56e/)
12. [When in Rome, The Irish Times, June 25, 2010](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/when-in-rome-1.683128)
13. [Destination Rome: Cinematic Cityscapes in Contemporary Hollywood Tourist Films](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381553238_Destination_Rome_Cinematic_Cityscapes_in_Contemporary_Hollywood_Tourist_Films)
14. [Where to watch When in Rome (2010), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/when-in-rome-2010-13477)

---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2009 to 2010 › Released in 2010*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license