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Usually when I start a new rom-com<\/a>, I giddily count down the minutes until the leads have their inevitable meet-cute. And going into the matinee of You, Me, & Tuscany <\/em>\u2014 armed with my requisite breakfast of popcorn and blue Icee \u2014 I felt no different.<\/p>\n But then I got caught up in Halle Bailey\u2019s turn as Anna. There\u2019s the pep talk she gives herself in the mirror before sleeping with (and to her dismay, only<\/em> sleeping with) a handsome Italian, Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor). The way she looks impossibly chic upon arriving in his hometown in Tuscany \u2014 despite a whirlwind, spur-of-the-moment travel day. And of course, how she makes instant friends with her cab driver and takes in her surroundings with bright-eyed zeal, only to realize there\u2019s nowhere for her to stay. <\/p>\n I worried over her lack of accommodations like she was my close personal friend, wondering: How much does she have in her bank account, again? <\/em>I was so invested in her solo Italian getaway<\/a> that by the time her eventual love interest Michael (Reg\u00e9-Jean Page) arrives in the deli where she\u2019s ogling a gorgeous sandwich \u2014 and steals it out from under her \u2014 it took me by surprise. I\u2019d almost forgotten that yes, this is a rom-com. There\u2019s a love story to tell!<\/p>\n All this to say, within minutes of her rom-com debut, Bailey proved a preternatural kind of leading-lady presence \u2014 a layered affability that compels you to root for her as an individual first, independent of the swoony story ahead. That\u2019s not a given for every rom-com, and is a particular achievement for your first. As director Kat Coiro recently told HuffPost UK<\/a> of Bailey: \u201cShe has this effervescence, and this kind of natural light and kindness inside of her that lets her get away with really crazy things.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed (and spoilers ahead), <\/strong>Bailey\u2019s ability to balance her character\u2019s thorny, human foibles \u2014 putting her dreams on pause in the wake of a major loss, slipping into other people\u2019s lives as a facade \u2014 with playful sincerity should be studied.<\/p>\n Running through a vineyard just to taste fresh Italian grapes? Singing Mario\u2019s \u201cLet Me Love You\u201d to win back your true love after you lie to him and his entire family? In a different actor\u2019s hands, these scenes could come across as too sweetly silly. <\/p>\n But while Bailey has said she wants to embrace cringe<\/a> (as should we all!), that\u2019s not what I felt when watching her find love in the Italian countryside. She makes you want to believe in these grand, put-yourself-out-there moments \u2014 making the case for a long and lucrative rom-com resume, if she wants it.<\/p>\n