FAQ

In the film's credits the church is "Santa Maria Maddalena" and it is in Rome

When in Rome is based on a screenplay co-written by screenwriting partners David Diamond and David Weissman along with the film's director, Mark Steven Johnson.

With the exception of an aerial shot and a short scene of a taxi driving past several of Rome's famous attractions, such as the Pantheon and the Roman Forum, scenes that take place about nine minutes into the movie, only the scenes at the Fountain of Love were actually shot in Rome. In fact, the majority of the film takes place in New York City with only two scenes actually taking place in Rome, one at the beginning of the movie when Beth Martin (Kristen Bell) travels to Rome to attend the wedding of her sister Joan (Alexis Dziena) and the other at the end of the movie when Beth returns to Rome for her own wedding. The Fountain of Love, although based on Rome's famous Trevi Fountain, was actually a prop constructed in the Piazza Borghese, about 500 meters north of the Pantheon.

Nick Beamon (Josh Duhamel) is the best man at Joan's wedding. Her husband-to-be, Umberto (Luca Calvani), was Nick's roommate when they were in college together in Syracuse, New York

Although When in Rome is often compared to the Academy Award winning Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) (1954), Beth takes four coins—a euro tossed in by Antonio (Will Arnett) the artist, a penny tossed in by Gale (Dax Shepard) the male model, a quarter tossed in by Lance (Jon Heder) the street magician, and a collector's coin tossed in by "Sausage King" Al Russo (Danny DeVito), also the Guggenheim Museum's newest patron. For good measure, Beth also takes a poker chip that she later concludes belongs to Nick.

Joan informs Beth that the only two ways she can reverse the spells placed on the men whose coins she plucked from the Fountain of Love is by returning the coins, and thus their love, to the fountain or to each man individually. So, Beth invites four of the guys to her apartment only to find that her assistant Stacy (Kate Micucci) has taken the coins. When Beth tries to make it to the Guggenheim to retrieve the coins from Stacy, a freak electrical storm hits New York, knocking out lights and stalling traffic. The four men decide, after Beth confesses that she's really in love with the fifth one—Nick—that they're going to help Beth get to the museum anyway. The five of them squeeze into Antonio's tiny little car, race maniacally down the streets and up the sidewalks, through the lobby of the Guggenheim, and into the elevator until they reach the fifth floor. Beth retrieves the coins from Stacy and returns them to their rightful owners, but when she goes to take out the poker chip from her purse, Lance does some sleight-of-hand tricks with it. The chip drops to the floor and rolls until it stops at Nick's feet. Although his chip has been returned, Nick still pledges his love for Beth, who concludes that his love is real. The two decide to marry in Rome. Just before the wedding, however, Lance realizes that he gave the wrong poker chip to Beth and gives her back the one she actually took from the fountain. Beth realizes that she can't go through the wedding, gives Nick back his chip, and leaves him standing at the altar. Nick finds her wading in the Fountain of Love and explains that he never tossed a poker chip in the Fountain and that his love for her truly is real. He tosses the chip back in the fountain and suddenly Father Dino (Keir O'Donnell), who was about to marry them, starts to scream, "Free of temptation!" Father Dino had cleaned Nick out at a poker game held after Umberto's bachelor party, and it was he who actually tossed the chip in the fountain. Nick and Beth kiss as Lance's assistant Juan (Efren Ramirez) films the kiss.

Their bios say that Bell is 5 feet 1 inch and that Duhamel is 6 feet 3½ inches.