Spring is upon us, and what better way to ring in the new season then with a rom-com that will have you smiling from ear to ear. This is exactly why you need to see You, Me & Tuscany starring Regé-Jean Page and Halle Bailey, which is now in theatres! 

Directed by Kat Coiro and produced by Will Packer, You, Me & Tuscany features Bailey as Anna, a young woman who is trying to navigate her life and connec with herself after experiencing a loss. Anna ends up on an unplanned trip to Tuscany, Italy, where she meets, Michael (Page). 

Ahead of the film’s release, I had the pleasure of speaking with Packer and Coiro about the rarity of theatrical rom-coms these days, the films themes of self-discovery and love, reigniting their own passions, and much more!

Check out the interview with Will Packer and Kat Coiro below:

Of course, I needed to know what it was about the script and characters in You, Me & Tuscany that excited them both about the film.

Coiro said, “For me, there were two things: there was the character of Anna, which represented a woman in her 20s in a way that I haven’t seen her, the messiness and the leap of faith, and, you know, just the nuance of that character. And then Tuscany, obviously.”

Packer chimed in, “I would say also, in addition to those, it is the absence of the genre of romantic comedies. I think that the absence of romantic comedies in the big screen environment – you don’t have many theatrical rom-coms anymore. That’s an opportunity! I’ve spent my whole career zigging when others have zagged. And so, right now, we’re the only romantic comedy in theaters, and maybe for the year, right? You know what? That doesn’t scare us. So, hopefully audiences will respond the way that we hope that they will, and feel like, ‘You know what? This is an opportunity to go see a fun movie on the big screen and escape all the realities of the world right now.’”

While the movie is a rom-com, there are also themes of finding one’s self and navigating life through grief. So, I wondered if that was another layer to why Coiro was interested in directing the film.

Coiro shared, “1,000,000%! It’s a story about falling in love with a man, a family, a place, wine, food. But really, it’s a story about falling in love with yourself and to be loved, you must love yourself to be loved. You must be in touch with what makes you tick and your passions. And to watch Anna go on that journey is so satisfying, because it’s not just a woman being fulfilled by a man. It is a woman fulfilling herself.”

Speaking of passions, I wondered if working on You, Me & Tuscany reignited their passions for filmmaking in any way.

Packer said, “I think for me, seeing the audience reaction to this certainly has – reignited is a tough word, because I always feel like I’ve got, you know, it’s always ignited. I got a nice hum. I’m burning all the time, you know, like as a passionate person. But what I will say is that audience reaction, it just underscores and validates what we’re doing. We had a tremendous time shooting in Tuscany, and having the opportunity to bring characters to life is always one of the best things and one of the joys of being a filmmaker.”

You, Me & Tuscany is now playing in theatres!