Love & Gelato is the new Netflix romantic drama based on the novel of the same name by Jenna Evans Welch. Directed by Brandon Camp, it is a discounted and mediocre teenage version of Eat, Pray, Love you can play in the background while doing your daily chores in your home. No element is out of the box or engaging. Read this Love and Gelato review to find out if you want to know more!
The movie progresses nowhere and lands with an aftertaste of recycled spaghetti. If you want a unique plot line with more never seen before tropes, you have to look elsewhere. But, if you enjoy The Lizzie McGuire Movie, then Love & Gelato might be your jam. Is it a decent watch? Sure. Is it necessarily good? It depends. (If you like an absolutely uneventful movie).
You can watch Love & Gelato on Netflix.
Plot Summary
When Lina loses her mother to cancer, she finds herself obligated to take a trip to Italy because she needs to live her mother’s last wish. Rome holds a special place in her mother’s heart because that’s where she made choices that transformed her life. Now, she wants her daughter, Lina, to follow in her footsteps, to which Lina benevolently agrees.
Soon, Lina finds herself immersed in the city, culture, food, vistas, and the jazz of Rome, including the gorgeous boys.
It’s a typical trope of two boys from different walks of life, former friends turned enemies and falling in love with a socially awkward, nerdy girl, Lina, and now she has to decide which way to go. Lina becomes infatuated with Alessandro for his blue eyes and charms with no redeeming qualities. A too-good-to-be-true chef, Lorenzo, with whom she finds a plan so much as seeing her absent father.
If you want an honest review of Love & Gelato, then you are at the right place.
Love & Gelato Movie Review: Yay or Nay?
It is a movie that feeds on stereotypes and has a specific comedic tone that is overly cheery. The writer and director of Love & Gelato focus more on the Italian accents, city aesthetics, and food. The movie begins with Lina’s voiceover to add a certain depth to the film, which clearly fails as there is no backstory for the protagonist. Lina spends her summer in Rome before she hits off at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and finds Howard, a father figure to her who was mainly absent through the entire movie. Still, she calls him ‘Dad’ by the end of the film, which will never make sense considering the number of interactions shown in the movie.
Finding the real Dad of Lina–which is supposed to be an integral part of the plotline- is painfully rushed. Again, it renders disappointment since it lacked the much-awaited meaningful interaction. The love triangle rides on the cliches, and the similar fashion of naivety and artless banters. It’s a two-hour movie of nothing in particular, which gets predictable and pointless at the end.
The romance in Love & Gelato lacks the passion and fire that could keep the viewers engaged and wanting for more. While there are some simple moments to enjoy, if you’re looking for swoons, you’re unlikely to find them.
You can watch Love & Gelato catch a quick summer romance vibe.
Conclusion
Love & Gelato is not particularly horrible, but it lacks the excitement that draws the viewers in and hooks them. It is a decent watch with the little it has to offer, and even that is something the viewers may stop caring about as soon as the movie is over. There are specific points that will give out Emily in Paris vibes, but with that being said, the cinematography is splendid with the brilliant shots of Italy. Lina is bearable in certain parts of the movie because everyone loves a protagonist who immerses into the character, but the wig in the end! That was absolutely atrocious.