Cast and crew of ‘Solo Mio’ talk about film

NEW YORK (CBS, KYMA) - The cast and crew of the romantic comedy "Solo Mio" spoke with CBS Newspath about the film.

The film stars Kevin James, who plays a man a man left at the altar who decides to go on his Italian honeymoon alone.

What begins as a solo journey of heartbreak becomes a vibrant, funny, and deeply moving adventure as he rediscovers his love for life, food, and ultimately, love itself, thanks to an unexpected connection with Gia (Nicole Grimaudo), a charming local who helps him open his heart again.

When asked why he wanted to make the movie in the first place, James, who also co-wrote the film said:

"I miss those classic romcoms done in a really, you know, we don't take title. They're great movies nowadays, you know, but it's, everything's explosions and all this stuff like that...or big, crazy comedies. And I miss those, you know, sit in the pocket, romance, romantic comedies. I really do those really like those classic ones. And I wanted one that we could, you can watch in a theater and, and have that feeling again, go through this journey with an audience, is it, to me was very important...and we just wanted to make a beautiful one. We wanted to make something that was really beautiful. And, and, and, and I feel like we thread that needle of doing that, like of, of finding a beautiful backdrop, you know, there's definitely twist and turns and I don't think anybody's gonna guess the ending of our movie. And even though it seems kind of so typical, it's not, and the way we go about it, I'm very excited for people [to see it]."

James also said, "It's never too late to have hope, to get up and try again, and the biggest disaster in your life is only setting you up to keep walking and around the corner to find your biggest victory," when asked what he ultimately hopes the audience takes away about love in the film.

Co-star Kim Coates and Chuck Kinnane, who co-directed the film with his brother Daniel, also spoke with CBS Newspath to talk about the film.

Coates, who plays Julian in the film, was asked what it was like to work with James again, and he said:

"Kevin and I have known each other for a long time. We did our first movie together called 'Grilled.' Didn't do that well at the box office, but it didn't matter. Cuz I got to meet him [and] Ray Romano, we had a blast and he always wants to work with me and I always wanna work with him. So when this whole thing came about...[the] role was written for me [in mind]."

In addition, Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus on the show "The Chosen," also stars in the film as Neil. When asked what made him want to be a part of the film, Roumie said:

"Kevin had called me up like earlier in the year and said, 'Hey, I think I got a movie for us.' And I'm like, 'Whatever it is, I'm in.' And then, I got to meet [Kevin, Chuck and Daniel] and they're like, oh my gosh, they're all brilliant and fun and loving and human. And, you know, like in the best possible way, just, you know, they, there was no question...When Kevin called me, there was no script, it was just like, yeah, whatever you're doing. and we went on, we go in, we did a zoom and I was like, 'Yeah, this is gonna be great.'"

"Solo Mio," which is distributed by Angel Studios, premiered in theaters last week and took second place at the weekend box office.