Smitten is a 2018 comedy/fantasy film about three kidnappers and their hostage whose lives are changed after they are cursed with a love spell after spending the night in a cottage.
Smitten is one of those rare movies that is sweet and simple. In this day of cynicism and skepticism, it’s nice to have a movie that isn’t concerned about any of that and just delivers a very pleasant love story. Many people I assume are going to roll their eyes with this one, and I don’t blame them, but despite it’s obvious character flaws, there is a lot to appreciate about this movie.
Tyler Hutton (Darren Criss) is a successful fashion executive who is asked by his father Gordon (James Remar) to head to Italy to promote some of their fall lineup. Once there though, he is kidnapped by three members of the mafia and held for ransom. While driving, they come upon a village with an open cottage and decide to spend the night there. Little do they know that the place has been cursed with a spell. Whoever spends the night will fall in love with the first thing they see. Aldo (Duccio Camerini) falls in love with the village ugly, Bambo (Massimo De Lorenzo) falls in love with a hunky woodsman and Cetto (Fabrizio Biggio) falls in love with a cow. Since Tyler is our hero, he of course falls in love with a beautiful woman named Rosalia (Madalina Ghenea)
While they are all under the spell, each of them work to win the affection of that person … or cow. It’s pretty funny if it’s not taken too seriously. The three kidnappers are indeed the comic relief of this picture and their plot lines are mainly there for laughs and nothing else. The real weight of this feature is the budding romance between Tyler and Rosalia.
Sure enough, everyone does what’s expected, though it’s the same character arch that we’ve seen in countless other romantic movies. Sometimes the gender is switched but it’s basically the same thing. A rich successful guy meets a woman who who comes from poverty and he thinks he can woo her with his money and treat her like a princess because no one else has. He then learns that money can’t buy love and she learns to value herself and they fall in love, yada, yada, yada. Villains come in around the third act to bring some tension but it’s usually resolved right quick.
Smitten is actually a good family movie, a harmless comedy that isn’t trying to be deep, and I’ll admit, I admire that. It’s quite a departure from debut director Barry Morrow, who is more known for his screenplays. He won an Academy Award in 1988 for Rain Man starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, which of course earned Best Picture, Best Actor (Hoffman) and Best Director (Barry Levinson) awards. Smitten isn’t quite on the same level, even with some heavy bits of drama but nonetheless, this is good fun for the whole family.
Smitten is one of many features playing at the 37th Minneapolis / St. Paul International Film Festival. Learn more about the festival and the MSP Film Society here.