‘Lost in Florence’ is this Decade’s ‘Green Street Hooligans’

Lost in Florence on the surface shares a lot of similarities with the 2005, Elijah Wood movie Green Street Hooligans. They both deal with an American moving to a foreign land. Both main characters live with family in their new European hometowns. Both are betrayed by a jealous local and both are introduced to a form of thuggery by their relative’s significant other. One because he was wrongfully expelled from an IV League university and in the case of this picture, is dumped by his girlfriend.

After Eric Lombard’s (Brett Dalton) girlfriend Colleen (Emily Atak) rejects his wedding proposal on a romantic trip to the Tuscan city of Florence, where the heartbroken young man moves in with his cousin Anna (Stana Katic) and her husband Gianni (Marco Bonini), he is introduced to Calcio Storico (aka Calcio Fiorentino, “Florence Kick Game” in English), a Renaissance era sport that is a combination of what looks like rugby meets boxing while using a soccer ball.

Apparently, Eric takes to Calcio Storico quickly because he was a college football player in the States. The locals aren’t too keen on an American playing their game but they warm up to him quickly as he continues to help them win game after game.

Unfortunately, like the KISS song, “Hide Your Heart,” Eric falls for Stefania (Alessandra Mastronardi), his team captain Paolo’s (Alessandro Preziosi) girlfriend and his cousin’s sister-in-law. As you know, love triangles cause all sorts of problems for everyone in every movie and a friendship turns into a rivalry real quick on the pitch.

The main difference between Lost in Florence and Green Street Hooligans are the tones of these films. Green Street Hooligans had to be more dark and gritty like East London itself. The sun used to never set on the British Empire, well, now the sun never rises with how much overcast falls over the island nation. Lost in Florence on the other hand, had to incorporate the beauty of the Italian countryside, the fantastic weather, the romance language itself as well as remnants of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance.

Another thing that sets Lost in Florence apart from Green Street Hooligans is that there is far more romance and intrigue in this film. The music is far more elegant, a bit more…classic Italian, with some modernity thrown in during the sports scenes.

What I enjoyed most about this picture was the humor, especially where Gianni called German and Belgium beers garbage but had an affinity for Pabst Blue Ribbon and referring to the Euro as nothing more than a glorified Deutsche Mark, making reference to Italy’s financial crisis, which is nowhere nearly as bad as Greece and Portugal’s.

Lost in Florence will have a limited release and can be found in theaters Friday, January 27, 2017 at listings below or On Demand via various streaming sites.