Rory and Sam are fundamental opposites and roommates during a semester abroad in Italy. Sam is an angry, atheist wanna-be thug from New York City who’s come to learn. Rory is a Bible thumping narcissist from the South who’s come to shop. Shepherd is their program director and the first in a series of biblical figures, including four of the  Archangels, who will serve as guideposts in their hilarious odyssey of self discovery. In class, they learn about the evolution of theatre from a medium of pure entertainment to a form of thought provoking expression that parallels their broadening horizons. 

 

Shep provides the first opportunity for their friendship to develop when he ensures their visit to the Guggenheim museum in Venice. An art history major, Sam explains that modern art isn’t about what you see, the beauty is in the inspiration behind the shape. This is an unheard of concept to Rory, whose whole identity is based on her appearance. The unorthodox notion plants a seed in Rory and the skinny girl begins to eat.  

 

Where Rory’s identity is tied to her looks, Sam is guarded. Usually unfriendly by nature, Sam meets a stranger named Uriel who inspires her to smile and, for the first time, inspires a warm reception from the world.  As we watch the beauty queens waistline expanding, Sam enjoys favor.  The tables have turned and each is standing in the others shoes. Forced to find the beauty beneath her surface, Rory begins searching for an artistic outlet. And because Sam feels attractive for the first time in her life, she’s moved to try her hand at art too. They are inspired.

 

Each is discovering a beauty they possess that has nothing to do with accomplishments or appearances. But when Sam sketches Rory in the abstract,  Rory is convinced it’s because she’s too fat to draw realistically. The gross misunderstanding and fallout that follows sends both girls into dangerous tailspins.  Due to circumstances, and despite the fact that their friendship has imploded, they’re stuck traveling together after the semester ends. Bickering on a bus down the coast, they meet a stranger named  Micky who invites them to Positano to stay at his good friend, Emmanuels', hotel. But after a few days the tension between them ruptures and they both realize that there is no artistic enlightenment and that it was nothing more than the romantic daydreams of two girls enchanted by Italy. They’ll be heading back to the states with unfulfilled endings. 

 

Waiting to boarding the bus to the airport, a well-known playwright introduced to them by Emmanuel arrives to say he thinks Sam is talented in the way she imitates others. He asks her if she’ll audition for him back in the States. Later, Rory sits in an airport restaurant contemplating a journal with Angels on its cover.  When the waitress approaches, she orders a glass of wine and a salad. She then puts the journal away. Has inspiration abandoned her?