Under the Stars review – picturesque Italian setting is backdrop for AI prompt of a romcom

Anyone who thinks it’s easy to make a romcom should take a look at this. It has all the ingredients: good-looking leads (Alex Pettyfer, Eva De Dominici), picturesque locations (the film is mainly set in Puglia, and benefits from funding from the region), lightly comic music underlining the scenes, charismatic veterans in supporting roles (“with Toni Collette … and Andy Garcia”), transparently engineered third-act jeopardy, and so on and so forth. But like a failed soufflé on Bake Off, it never rises to the necessary level. Pettyfer plays the hero, a romance novelist named Ian. (Yes, Ian. The sitcom Peep Show made great capital out of the ludicrousness of naming a baby Ian in the 21st century. Without wishing to do down the name, it’s an odd choice and speaks to a wider tone-deafness in the script.) In fact the plotline for Under the Stars is the inverse of, say, a great Richard Curtis one, in which implausible scenarios feel wholly realistic: there’s nothing particularly impossible about Under the Stars, and yet it all feels clunkily unlikely. Perhaps none of this would matter if there was more of that elusive chemistry between the leads, but despite physically resembling the results of an AI prompt for Attractive Romantic Comedy Protagonists, observing Pettyfer and De Dominici’s characters attempt to strike a spark is like watching someone trying to light a fire using damp toilet roll and a magnifying glass. Early on, Collette’s novelist character is watching a television adaptation of her work. “Some moron has made a miniseries out of Last Lovers in Paradise,” she sniffs. “I mean, the actors are trying their best, but I’m telling you it is mortifying.” Well, quite. • Under the Stars is on digital platforms from 17 November.