Universal‘s new romantic comedy feature You, Me & Tuscany has a lot of people feeling that their future opportunities could be tied to its success — and not even those who have anything to do with the film.
Director Kat Coiro’s movie stars Halle Bailey as a chef who secretly starts living in a vacant Italian villa and develops feelings for the cousin (Regé-Jean Page) of the residence’s owner. The Hollywood Reporter’s review deemed the film an “appealing” escapist fantasy, and it is likely heading for a box office opening at just under $10 million.
But just the fact that the movie is getting a theatrical release has spurred celebration on social media, with fans of the genre noting that a rom-com with Black leads had not hit the big screen since 2012’s Think Like a Man. The topic spurred debate with filmmaker Nina Lee posting last month that industry decision-makers appear to be using You, Me & Tuscany’s impending box office result to determine whether to move forward with other romantic projects with Black stars: “Met with a studio about my already shot romcom and they won’t buy it until they see how You, Me & Tuscany does.”
Will Packer, the film producer behind You, Me & Tuscany, Think Like a Man, Girls Trip, Ride Along and other titles, tells THR that the challenge for getting such features into theaters stems not only from the industry’s “very paltry record when it comes to films that highlight diverse leads,” but also that rom-coms have been deemed as a genre that can be relegated to Netflix streaming offerings or TV films on Lifetime.
“Make no mistake: I remember the golden era of rom-coms, and even Black rom-coms — Love & Basketball, The Best Man, Think Like a Man, Brown Sugar, Two Can Play That Game, you name it,” Packer says. “Audiences were showing up in theaters and enjoying those movies. So people do have to understand that Hollywood is a reactive industry, and there is an opportunity to say that this type of film — with these type of leads, with the audience that enjoys these types of films — are profitable and worth making, and Hollywood will make more of them.”
Regé-Jean Page and Halle Bailey in You, Me & Tuscany.
Giulia Parmigiani/Universal Pictures
Lee tells THR that the film she referenced — That’s Her, which was announced this week as premiering next month at the American Black Film Festival in Miami — was self-financed by the movie’s lead, DeWayne Colley, known as content creator Kountry Wayne. Lee points out that rising filmmakers are advised to go forward with independently shooting their own projects, but that there is not a straightforward pipeline for the next steps.
“I’ve just been really frustrated because, whether you’re Black or a woman, the notes that people are always telling us is, ‘If no studio wants to pick up your script, shoot it yourself,’” the director says. “With That’s Her, that’s what we did, but the conversation has to go further than just shooting it yourself. What happens after that? Everyone’s like, ‘Shoot it yourself, and the studios will come,’ and that’s not what happened. I still think it’s going to happen, but we have to change the advice that we’re giving people. Shooting it yourself isn’t enough anymore.”
Brandy Monk-Payton, a professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University and contributor to the book Watching While Black Rebooted, notes that Hollywood seemingly needs to be continually reminded of the buying power of underrepresented groups. She highlights recent theatrical successes for such original films with Black leads as Sinners, which notched wins both at the box office and the Academy Awards, along with the Keke Palmer-led comedy One of Them Days having a sequel in the works.
“There’s absolutely this burden of representation that you put all of this weight and pressure on one movie vehicle in order to provide the conditions of possibility for others,” Monk-Payton says. “This is something that is very familiar to Black creatives, where they feel as though their hopes, dreams and aspirations are riding on a singular project.”
Lee notes that, while she has dealt with social media trolls who have claimed she is trying to make Tuscany’s release about herself, she is grateful for the fellow filmmakers who have appreciated hearing about her personal experience.
“It was never my intention for it to leave my small niche Twitter community,” Lee says of her initial viral post. “But I’ve spoken to Will Packer and a few other people, and they all are thankful for the conversation that this is starting. I’ve just got to find relief in that and keep it moving.”
