I think maybe the trend this year isn’t a trope, it’s a title. Everything will be called “Christmas in” Something or Somewhere. This time, the ‘somewhere’ is Rome.

Lacey Chabert plays Angela, an American tour guide who loves Rome probably more than she loves herself. Shortly after getting fired, she meets American businessman Oliver (Sam Page) who knows nothing about Rome but needs to close a business deal in a few days. He hires Angela to be his personal guide to Italian culture.

Even though Christmas in Rome is set in Rome, the city itself barely makes an appearance. Considering that Angela is supposed to be a tour guide for the city and she doesn’t shut up about how much she loves it, we only get a sweeping tourist view of the city, the inside of Angela’s favorite bakery, and the inside of the business that Oliver’s company is trying to buy. But I guess people aren’t watching the movie for views of Rome. They are watching for the romance.

Sadly, the romance is also a let down. Angela and Oliver supposedly only spend three days together. In that time, they form a great friendship. Of course, that means that they are suddenly in love. When Oliver proclaims his love to Angela, her face shows exactly what I was feeling. “Um, what?” For some reason, though, she tells him the problem is that they live 5,000 miles apart. (She lives in Rome, he lives in New York.) No, dear. The problem is that you two aren’t actually in love. But Angela lets her friend bully her into starting a relationship with this man. I wonder what will happen when they decide that they only love each other platonically. Not all male-female relationships have to be romantic.

So, should you watch Christmas in Rome? I mean, you can if you want to. It is on the better side of Christmas movies. But it could be better.