Anna (Halle Bailey) doesn’t have great boundaries in other people’s homes. Her tendency to make herself entirely too comfortable gets her into trouble as a house sitter, but that specific quirk ultimately leads to her romantic good fortune during a spontaneous trip to Italy, so how bad can it really be?

In fact, if Anna had never donned the wardrobe of her high-end client (Nia Vardalos) to walk the dog in a fit of wealth cosplay, she never would have gotten fired in time to meet an Italian hunk, Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), who inspires the trip that unfolds in “You, Me & Tuscany,” directed by Kat Coiro and scripted by Ryan and Kristin Engle. So really, the message here is that we should all be more impulsive and slightly unhinged — Anna ends up living her Tuscan dreams after all.

Running off to Italy and into the arms of an earthy Mediterranean man holding a big bowl of pasta is a specifically American, female-friendly kind of fantasy that’s been depicted on-screen before, in travelogues like “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “Eat Pray Love,” both name-checked in “You, Me & Tuscany.” The Vardalos cameo also connects the dots between this film and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” both with large, cartoonishly ethnic families enthusiastically champing at the bit to plan a marriage ceremony.

But first, how do we get from unemployed house sitter to impending Italian nuptials? Anna, a culinary school dropout, is drifting from gig to gig, grieving her mother, who was a chef, when she meets Matteo at a hotel bar. He enthralls her with stories of his Tuscan hometown and currently empty villa, having run away from the burden of his family’s expectations. Anna takes it as a sign and books a flight. She turns up in his hometown and, with nowhere else to stay, helps herself to his villa while Matteo gallivants around the States, blissfully ignorant.

Later, while trying on a random diamond ring she finds (see aforementioned boundary issues), Matteo’s family turns up. They put two and two together, add a few assumptions and Anna goes with it, letting his mother Gabriella (Isabella Ferrari) indulge in a best-case scenario. Then she meets Matteo’s cousin/adopted brother Michael (Regé-Jean Page of “Bridgerton” fame), a soulful winemaker, and things get complicated. There’s also a family restaurant that’s struggling and could really use the help of a talented would-be chef obsessed with Italian cuisine.

There are almost too many romance tropes in “You, Me & Tuscany” to take it seriously: fake dating, a journey from being enemies to lovers, a fiancé’s brother, etc. So many plot points and characters keeps things jam-packed in what’s essentially a Hallmark movie with a travel budget. But for an outlandish romance set in a theme-park version of Italy that features more slow-motion shots of food being tossed in the air than an ’80s McDonald’s commercial, it’s actually pretty charming.

Anna has an angel and a devil on each shoulder, neither of whom she listens to very much. One is her best friend Claire (Aziza Scott) in New York, who’s always encouraging her to make the prudent choice. The other is her Italian taxi driver Lorenzo (Marco Calvani), who suggests she tell the truth but agrees that her way is more romantic. They synthesize and parrot back the script’s outrageous plot points, serving as a Greek chorus, though being reasonable wouldn’t push Anna toward her destiny.

As a romantic lead, Page could do this blindfolded with one arm tied around his back — he’s just that handsome and smooth. He even manages to pull off an a cappella version of the 2004 Mario R&B ballad “Let Me Love You” without drifting into cringe territory.

Bailey has a wide-eyed clueless cuteness that lends to her character’s well-meaning naiveté — even her missteps have a way of working out. She brings a sort of Disney princess innocence and pluck to Anna, which makes sense considering she played Ariel in the live-action “The Little Mermaid.”

There are limits to Bailey’s charm, though. She manages comedy much better than sincerity but Coiro knows how to work around it, punctuating her big speeches with quick cutaways to comic relief so we don’t dwell on them too much. The script grounds its fantasy in real emotional traumas and triggers: Anna and Michael bond over losing parents and the competition between brothers resonates authentically. Even if the setting and circumstances are over the top, the choices the characters make track as actual human behavior (if heightened).

But most importantly, “You, Me & Tuscany” is self-aware. It’s transporting and ridiculous and knows exactly what it is, and therefore, we do too. So go ahead, enjoy a little dolce vita as a treat.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

An independent review of the BAFTA Film Awards has found a “number of structural weaknesses” in planning, escalation procedures, and crisis coordination before John Davidson‘s Tourette’s outburst.

Davidson, an executive producer on the BAFTA-winning I Swear, dominated headlines for weeks after involuntarily shouting the n-word as Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for best visual effects at the 79th British Academy Film Awards on Feb. 22.

The BBC has had its own questions to answer after airing the slur despite the two-hour tape delay, and just this week also ruled the incident a breach of the broadcaster’s editorial standards. Chief content officer Kate Phillips has maintained the breach was “not intentional,” though former director-general Tim Davie was unable to say why the ceremony remained available to stream on BBC iPlayer 15 hours after the event.

On Friday, a review commissioned by the BAFTA board and carried out by RISE Associates concluded its findings on what happened and what must change. Sent to The Hollywood Reporter, the review identified “a number of structural weaknesses” across the British Academy’s planning and crisis management.

“However,” said a note from the BAFTA board, “it did not find evidence of malicious intent on the part of those involved in delivering the event. We accept its conclusions in full.”

The board continued: “We apologize unreservedly to the Black community, for whom the racist language used carries real pain, brutality, and trauma; to the disability community, including people with Tourette Syndrome, for whom this incident has led to unfair judgement, stigma, and distress; and to all our members, guests at the ceremony and those watching at home. What was supposed to be a moment of celebration was diminished and overshadowed.”

The statement added: “We have written to those directly impacted on the night to apologize.”

The review is clear that while it is “not a failure of intent,” BAFTA’s planning and processes “have not kept pace with its diversity and inclusion goals.” The board also admits they did not “adequately anticipate or fully prepare for the impact of such an incident in a live event environment and as a result our duty of care to everyone at the ceremony and watching at home fell short.”

Work is already underway to address the specific areas of improvement recommended in the review to reduce the risk of this happening again. This includes improving the escalation process and the chain of information sharing around BAFTA Awards ceremonies, strengthening how they plan for and deliver access, inclusion, and support at their events, and addressing any internal cultural gaps or lack of knowledge that “may prevent BAFTA from meeting its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion across all our work.”

The BBC, too, has vowed to learn from their mistakes and prevent history from repeating itself. The corporation has set out measures to improve event planning, live production, and the iPlayer takedown processes.

The backlash from the incident lasted weeks. Davidson claimed he was “deeply mortified” if anyone thought his tics were “intentional.” It became a topic of discussion at the NAACP Image Awards, as well as the subject of a bad-taste SNL sketch that had The Hollywood Reporter asking: Is there a U.S.-U.K. gap on Tourette’s education?

Coachella revelers are getting ready to pitch their tents, performing artists are running through their final rehearsals and thousands of global brands are gearing up for what will be one of the biggest content-making weekends of the year.

What began as a grungy early 2000s desert fest has since evolved into a high-end global cultural phenomenon. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio is regarded as one of the largest of its kind in the world, drawing more than 125,000 people a day across two consecutive weekends in April.

As the festival has grown, so too has the allure for big brands like Guess, Rivian, Soho House and Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila looking to capitalize on Coachella as a marketing megaphone.

Both off and on the festival grounds, these brands host a series of parties, pop-ups and other VIP events that lavish celebrities, influencers and artists with premium experiences. The hope is they will then share those experiences with their large online audiences.

The Absolut Heat Haus, Soho House’s VIP pop-up The Hideout, and the Coca-Cola Pop Shop are just a few of the brand activations that aim to build a rapport with the festival audience.

This turn toward a high-end consumer market — which reflects a broader trend among many retailers to cater to the affluent — hasn’t been without its critics, especially from music purists who view the festival as overly commercial.

But in many ways, the festival creates the perfect marketing opportunity for global brands to reach Gen Z consumers, who accounted for approximately 17% of total global consumer spending of $57.6 trillion in 2024, according to Nielsen.

“People come to Coachella with the idea in mind that brands will bring their best foot forward. Not only are they looking for their favorite, tried-and-true brands to be there, but they’re also looking at what’s the next big thing,” said Jessica Lanzon, director of partnerships and experiential at Ciroc.

The vodka maker offers the Ciroc Athletic Club, an invite-only pop-up that includes a padel tournament and many luxury amenities, like customized merch and bottomless cocktails.

Marc Lotenberg, the founder and chief executive of Dorsia, a members-only platform for exclusive restaurant reservations, estimates brands can spend up to tens of millions of dollars at Coachella.

The biggest global stage

“It’s Coachella, then it’s everything else,” said Lotenberg. “Nothing else compares to the amount of eyes that you get during Coachella. It’s the biggest global stage.”

Dorsia hosts the Zenyara party series, an exclusive after-hours gathering that transforms the private lakeside estate into a nightclub.

The company helped introduce Nobu to the festival last year. The famed Japanese restaurant is returning to this year with meals starting at $375 per person.

Dorsia also offers suites at Coachella’s main stage that start at $70,000 per weekend and accommodate 10 guests who will get backstage access, dedicated service and premium amenities.

“There’s no ceiling when it comes to how much people are willing to pay when it comes to experiences,” Lotenberg said.

Music fans at the 2025 Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival in Indio.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Some of Coachella’s most elite attendees won’t spend their day at the actual festival, choosing instead to hop between the many exclusive day parties, powered by brands like Revolve.

Over the last decade, the Cerritos-based online fashion retailer has hosted its own mini-festival featuring A-list performers and a star-studded guest list. Last year, Grammy-winning rappers Lil Wayne and Cardi B performed. The off-site festival held in the Coachella Valley is invite-only and hosts around 2,000 people.

“It was quite simple. We saw the impact pretty immediately in terms of traffic to the site and conversion sales,” said Raissa Gerona, chief brand officer for Revolve. “Because we’ve been doing it for so long, we have become the destination … to shop for all things festival and not just Coachella.”

It’s not all about high fashion and luxury mansions. The spirit of outdoor camping is in Coachella’s DNA. The nature-themed boutique hotel company AutoCamp and electric-truck maker Rivian have partnered up for Camp Rivian.

The companies are hosting a curated group of influencers and media partners to stay at a pop-up campsite featuring AutoCamp’s modernized Airstreams. Invitees get the opportunity to test drive Rivian’s newest R2 SUV to the festival and indulge in the communal glamping site.

AutoCamp’s Chief Operating Officer, Bryan Terzi, said it felt like the right moment to try out a deluxe festival camping concept.

People at the flower installation at the 2025 Coachella Vally Arts and Music Festival in Indio.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“People would really get it because it’s happening at Coachella,” he said. “I don’t know if this type of experience would really work at other smaller festivals like Austin City Limits.”

L.A.-based clothing retailer Guess is going all-in on the accommodations with its Guess Compound. The denim brand rents out ten of the valley’s most luxurious villas, hosts up to 60 people, provides high-end amenities like IV drips, massage therapy and an onsite coffee pop-up from La La Land and puts on exclusive after-parties.

Nicolai Marciano, the chief business development officer at Guess, said the effort is about creating more brand equity and building relationships within Coachella’s creative community.

“There’s a lot of different types of talent from musical artists performing to people from reality TV shows and people that make great content — when you put them all together, it’s exciting to watch as an end consumer,” Marciano said.

Claudio Bravo, of Bravo Luxury Retreats, is the chief executive behind the private luxury community next to the festival that hosts Guess. The property contains 16 villas with more than 100 bedrooms, as well as a standalone 10-acre estate set aside for high-end stays and brand activations.

During festival season, Bravo charges around $150,000 for a weekend at one of the villas. He sells out every year, up to six months in advance, catering to wealthy individuals and corporate clients.

“These houses are very luxury, very modern. You feel like you are in a resort,” said Bravo. “I built these houses especially for this – like I was building a hotel.”

Bravo is developing another 14-villa project in nearby La Quinta, which hosts annual professional golf events.

Walker Drawas, a brand marketing agency which has worked at Coachella for years, is involved in six events at the festival, including Kendall Jenner’s “818 Outpost.”

“Brands today are starved for content and starved for news,” said Adam Drawas, co-founder of the agency. “The consumer needs to engage with newness and new content so many times a day, and so brands really need a content wonderland that can give them a big bank of content.”

Sean Breuner, the chief executive of luxury rental company Avant Stay, said at each of their properties, renters will interact with products and amenities from 15 to 20 brands — many of them in the fridge — seeking out high-end consumers.

VIPs expect a private chef, a driver to take them back and forth to the festival grounds or auxiliary events, private security, IV drips provided at home, an on-call cleaner and private tennis or pickleball lessons.

“The majority of festivals you go to don’t have art installations or people who are dressed to the nines in festival outfits,” Breuner said.

Drawas said he believes the market is only going to keep expanding.

“This began in music. It transitioned into fashion,” added Drawas. “Now it’s just a consumer wonderland.”