24 years ago, Adam Sandler revolutionized his onscreen persona by trading his broad comedic shtick for genuine romantic pathos in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love. Now all these years later, his old buddy Kevin James is following in his footsteps with Solo Mio. While James’ sweet, slight Italian romance is in no danger of rivaling PTA’s manic classic in terms of quality, it provides a similarly transformative platform for an actor who’s never seemed all that interested in breaking out of his particular comedic (and more recently, action-focused) lane. In other words: Who knew Paul Blart had it in him?
In fact, James’ gentle, genuine turn as an elementary school teacher who gets left at the altar but decides to go on his honeymoon anyway is reminiscent of the way James Gandolfini unlocked a whole new side of himself in Nicole Holofcener’s romantic classic Enough Said. While the rom-com genre is generally associated with hot, young passion, there’s a welcome subgenre of films about dating in the second half of your life—when the balance between hoping for a happily ever after and fearing a lonelier future has different stakes. While a more mainstream studio version of this story would probably have been a much broader movie about James pratfalling his way through Europe before bagging a hot woman, Solo Mio is instead a much more earnest love letter to middle-aged second chances.
Of course, it’s also got the emotional depth of an Ed Sheeran ballad, but in this case that’s not a damning flaw. Sheeran’s “Perfect” scores an opening montage recapping the love story between Matt Taylor (James) and fellow teacher Heather (Julie Ann Emery), which culminates in him proposing to her in front of her students. Notably, she seems more excited about the idea of getting married in Rome than by the proposal itself. When the day actually comes, she gets cold feet and leaves Matt standing at the altar, with just a handwritten note to explain her disappearance.
The newly dumped groom winds up staying in Italy anyway, partially because his elaborate honeymoon package isn’t refundable, but also because he still has hope of tracking down Heather and convincing her not to leave him. That brings him into the orbit of two other neurotic middle-aged couples on his honeymoon package: Alyson Hannigan and Kim Coates as a duo resolving their second divorce with their third remarriage, and Jonathan Roumie and Julee Cerda as a patient/therapist turned husband/wife. But, more importantly, it also allows Matt to cross paths with Gia (Nicole Grimaudo), an effervescent Italian café owner with a soft spot for his American cluelessness.
It’s the Matt/Gia stuff where Solo Mio truly shines. James’ shy, sheepish, but also incredibly sweet performance is perfectly complemented by Grimaudo’s zanier but still grounded work. The duo strike up a friendship filled with flirty romanticism as they zip through Rome on a tandem bike. Yet there’s also some poignant melancholy as they open up about their respective heartbreaks over a late-night dessert. Though Matt and Gia aren’t the most richly drawn characters, they feel like two real, wistful adults rather than two rom-com stock archetypes—and that alone is refreshing. You buy their chemistry in a way you don’t always in a James project, perhaps because James himself is a co-writer here.
Unfortunately, the film doesn’t have the confidence to anchor itself solely around their dynamic, instead diverting into not-all-that-funny detours involving Matt’s honeymooner friends. Neither Coates nor Roumie pop as comedic side characters in the way the film clearly thinks they do, and there’s an absolutely egregious underuse of Hannigan throughout. Particularly in its middle act, Solo Mio often feels like it’s filling time rather than adding anything fresh to the predictable rhythms of the rom-com genre. And though there are hints of genuine emotional nuance on the film’s margins, Solo Mio is mostly content to be charming and amiable.
Still, the surprise of James’ performance and some genuinely lovely shots of Rome courtesy of cinematographer Jared Fadel help make the trip worth taking. This isn’t a challenging rom-com in the vein of Punch-Drunk Love. But directors Chuck and Dan Kinnane (two of eight brothers in a filmmaking collective) still bring a welcome sense of perspective to the proceedings. While Solo Mio feels familiar, it doesn’t feel generic—and that’s a balancing act as impressive as James’ late-career pivot.
Directors: Chuck Kinnane, Dan Kinnane
Writers: Kevin James, Patrick Kinnane, John Kinnane
Starring: Kevin James, Nicole Grimaudo, Alyson Hannigan, Kim Coates, Jonathan Roumie, Julee Cerda, Julie Ann Emery, Alessandro Carbonara
Release Date: February 6, 2026
