 In 2012, Cruz appeared in the first ever Nintendo commercial to promote New Super Mario Bros. 2 and the Nintendo 3DS XL in which she played the role of Mario in the ad. She spoke Italian again, this time in Woody Allen's romantic ensemble comedy film To Rome with Love, in which she portrayed a street-smart prostitute who agrees to pretend to be the wife of a newlywed. Fond to work with her again, Allen compared Cruz's play in the film with that of Italian icons Anna Magnani and Sophia Loren. While the film garnered mixed reviews in general, Cruz received favourable reviews for her "exuberantly, cartoonishly sexy" performance, which reviewers such as The Week cited as a stand out. The same year, Cruz also reunited with Italian director Sergio Castellitto in his war tale Twice Born about an infertile Italian woman who returns to relive her past in Sarajevo. An adaptation of Castellitto's wife Margaret Mazzantini's same-titled bestseller, Cruz portrayed the transitional character at different phases in her life, ranging from her early twenties to her late forties. Despite receiving little praise from critics, Cruz's performance opposite Emile Hirsch earned positive reviews.
