Opa!

Opa! is a delightful, breezy little romantic comedy that doesn’t offer any great shakes in terms of characters or plotting, but is surprisingly compelling from start to finish (thanks primarily to the engaging performances and breathtaking scenery). Matthew Modine plays Eric, an American archeologist who arrives in Greece intending to unearth a rare artifact that his father spent his entire career pursuing. Shortly after arriving, Eric finds himself falling for the beautiful owner of a local tavern named Katerina (Agni Scott) – although the budding romance is soon threatened by the revelation that said artifact just happens to be buried underneath Katerina’s establishment (which would, of course, have to be demolished during the excavation). It’s not at all difficult to figure out where all of this is going, and yet it’s hard not to be drawn into the relatively simple storyline. Though Raman Singh and Christina Concetta’s screenplay is peppered with various cliches of the genre – including the dreaded fake break-up and the last-minute race to reunite with a departing lover – the palpable chemistry between Modine and Scott successfully allows the viewer to overlook such things. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the film transpires against the romantic backdrop of Greece, lending the proceedings the feel of an effective travelogue for the country.

*** out of ****