You, Me & Tuscany… and the future of every Black rom-com?

Last month in a post on X, award winning filmmaker Nina Lee implored audiences to see You, Me & Tuscany, stating that its success would affect whether or not her own projects and those of other Black creatives will be picked up by studios. A film she had no hand in will now determine the future of every Black romantic comedy after it.

Refusing to invest in Black projects is a long-standing pattern in Hollywood and, even when they are funded, they are measured against impossible standards. Despite the fact that Black rom-coms, and films by Black filmmakers are often well-received when they are released, Hollywood releases every Black project with scepticism.

You, Me & Tuscany is a rom-com starring Halle Bailey of Little Mermaid fame and Regé Jean-Page who put the hit show Bridgerton on the map as the Duke of Hastings. Even with such prestigious talent at the helm, Black filmmakers must wait with bated breath for You, Me & Tuscany to succeed: the future of the projects they have poured their lives into depends on it.

The scepticism Black films often face can be attributed to fact that studio executives believe white audiences cannot relate to Black main characters, the same way they believe men cannot relate when women are at the forefront of a film

In a time where most theatrically released movies are big blockbusters with million-dollar budgets, You, Me & Tuscany is a refreshing change of pace for the cinema goer. Imagine if modern rom-com classics like Set it Off or Anyone but You, which ironically both star Glen Powell, could not be made because their fates relied on every average, white-led film that graced the box office before them.

A romantic classic like Say Anything, which has cemented itself in popular culture, originally failed to make an impact at the box office in its initial theatrical run: what if the future of white rom-coms had hinged on this singular ’80s film? Perhaps with so much pressure the film would not have become such a cultural juggernaut and Glen Powell would not have had his chance to make a name for himself as a leading man in the modern rom-com genre.

The scepticism Black films often face can be attributed to fact that studio executives believe white audiences cannot relate to Black main characters, the same way they believe men cannot relate when women are at the forefront of a film. This prevailing narrative continues to be disproven as audiences show with their money and their effort that they are interested in these films.

For example, last year, the historical horror Sinners took the world by storm, impressing audiences and critics alike, however, before the film had even had a chance to make its mark, Variety released an article, essentially a hit piece against it, disparaging its profitability on opening weekend. Like You, Me & Tuscany, Sinners was held to an impossibly high standard, one it eventually met and surpassed, becoming the most Oscar-nominated film of all time.

Whilst there is research that supports the claim that audience members are more likely to watch films if they relate to the protagonist, there is only so much truth to be garnered from the claim, because there are not enough movies being made that star Black protagonists, or female protagonists, or queer protagonists, to make this comparison apt.

This reactionary tactic does nothing for the success of Black art and is damaging. If it was a worse film and no one saw it, would the conclusion be that every Black rom-com is terrible, and audiences don’t want to watch them?

You, Me & Tuscany is a fun and flawed film, like most in its genre. It requires the viewer to suspend their disbelief to buy into the cheesy romance and the rapid pace of events. But somehow, this film, the first Black-led and theatrically released rom-com in years, has the onus of setting the tone for future Black Hollywood rom-coms. This reactionary tactic does nothing for the success of Black art and is damaging. If it was a worse film and no one saw it, would the conclusion be that every Black rom-com is terrible, and audiences don’t want to watch them?

Prior to the success of Sinners, black horror was a genre proving itself to be lucrative with classics like Get Out and Us being met with commercial and critical success. However, Hollywood was unwilling to put money into the hands of anyone not named Jordan Peele and therein lies the problem. What myriads of interesting, engaging and entertaining stories by Black and other non-white filmmakers are we missing because they are stifled by disbelieving executives who invest in one non-white film every ten years and use that as the metric for what audiences want?

It is interesting that You, Me & Tuscany is being so harshly judged by Hollywood execs as a metric for Black films considering the cast has about five Black people and the director of the film is white. It just proves that the cynicism Hollywood has for investing in Black talent and in Black stories hurts not only Black people, but everyone in the industry.

It also highlights the prevailing issues Hollywood has with race, because, as of the 98th Oscars, only thirty-two actors of colour have won an award, with Michelle Yeoh becoming the second woman of colour to win best actress in 98 years. At least Black filmmakers can rest easy knowing You, Me & Tuscany has made back its budget and is now waiting to turn a profit. Nina Lee even tweeted that she has exciting new developments for her and her film.