Every once in a while, we need to see a story about true love in all of its sappiness. The sappy, sticky, sweet Letters to Juliet wants to be that movie for you no matter how much you try to fight it (in that way, it's like the Swine Flu).
Amanda Seyfried stars as Sophie - an aspiring writer stuck as a fact checker at The New Yorker. However, don't shed any tears for the prettiest wannabe writer in Manhattan as she is engaged to sexy chef Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal, you know he's sexy because he has a European accent) and they are heading off to Verona , Italy for a pre-honeymoon before the wedding (What?!?!? Pre-honeymoon? You kids are crazy these days).
Unfortunately, the bride and groom-to-be have very different agendas as she wants to experience all the romance and magic Italy has to offer, while he wants to shop for items to use in his new restaurant (I think he's trying to write off this pre-honeymoon as a business trip and expense, I need to do that with the Milk Duds I eat when reviewing movies!).
One day, when her idiot fiancée who doesn't deserve this beautiful, amazing lady abandons her to check out some wine auction miles and miles away, Sophie comes across the Secretaries of Juliet, who answer the notes left for Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet of Verona) by women who are seeking guidance and advice in matters of the heart (maybe you would be doing better in the love department if you weren't looking for advice from a fictional character who died over 400 years ago). She finds one note that has been overlooked for 50 years, answers it, and soon meets the author, Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), who is inspired to return to Verona to find the man she left behind decades ago.
Can Sophie help Claire find the man who might have been her true love?
What will Sophie learn about true love, and Claire's uptight grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan)?
My eyes are still sore from all of the rolling of them at the obvious, cliché twists and turns (as well as the trappings of every lady driven love story fantasy), but Letters to Juliet has enough charm to make up for it.
Writers Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan give you a script where every moment is completely predictable like Charlie is a jerk, but he looks good in a swimsuit (and he has a cute little European accent), so Sophie is bound to fall in lust with him or Claire tracks down every Lorenzo in the Verona countryside and the right one probably isn't the fat, poor guy in the nursing home, but the one who is filthy rich and resembles the Dos Equis dude.
However, even the most cold hearted cynic can get wrapped up in the idea of finding long lost love thanks to the appeal of our two leading ladies. Redgrave is all regal, vulnerable, earnest and hopeful as the woman who wants to track down the man she left behind. She brings great dignity to Claire, as well as a sense of determination, urgency and a touch of melancholy in the right moments. Every actor can learn something by watching her on screen.
Then, Seyfried almost makes up for Dear John as the everygirl heroine who wants to be Julia Roberts for the iPod generation. The audience feels her pain as the fiancée doesn't give her the attention he should. They cheer for her as she meets the new Mr. Right, and worry that true love won't be found for poor, sweet Sophie. Worse yet, they are afraid she might be stuck with that lout (even though he does have the cute European accent and a hot booty)! Much of this is because Seyfried is likable, relatable and is skilled at showing us how Sophie wears her heart on her sleeve.
Sure, it's not surprising, but Letters to Juliet is full of amazing scenery, brings a laugh to your lips, and makes you want to believe in true love even with vomit-inducing dialogue like, "when we are speaking of true love, it is never too late." If you can make it through that line, you can survive the movie.
2 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)
Letters to Juliet is rated PG for brief rude behavior, some language and incidental smoking.
Unfortunately, the bride and groom-to-be have very different agendas as she wants to experience all the romance and magic Italy has to offer, while he wants to shop for items to use in his new restaurant (I think he's trying to write off this pre-honeymoon as a business trip and expense, I need to do that with the Milk Duds I eat when reviewing movies!).
One day, when her idiot fiancée who doesn't deserve this beautiful, amazing lady abandons her to check out some wine auction miles and miles away, Sophie comes across the Secretaries of Juliet, who answer the notes left for Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet of Verona) by women who are seeking guidance and advice in matters of the heart (maybe you would be doing better in the love department if you weren't looking for advice from a fictional character who died over 400 years ago). She finds one note that has been overlooked for 50 years, answers it, and soon meets the author, Claire (Vanessa Redgrave), who is inspired to return to Verona to find the man she left behind decades ago.
Can Sophie help Claire find the man who might have been her true love?
What will Sophie learn about true love, and Claire's uptight grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan)?
My eyes are still sore from all of the rolling of them at the obvious, cliché twists and turns (as well as the trappings of every lady driven love story fantasy), but Letters to Juliet has enough charm to make up for it.
Writers Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan give you a script where every moment is completely predictable like Charlie is a jerk, but he looks good in a swimsuit (and he has a cute little European accent), so Sophie is bound to fall in lust with him or Claire tracks down every Lorenzo in the Verona countryside and the right one probably isn't the fat, poor guy in the nursing home, but the one who is filthy rich and resembles the Dos Equis dude.
However, even the most cold hearted cynic can get wrapped up in the idea of finding long lost love thanks to the appeal of our two leading ladies. Redgrave is all regal, vulnerable, earnest and hopeful as the woman who wants to track down the man she left behind. She brings great dignity to Claire, as well as a sense of determination, urgency and a touch of melancholy in the right moments. Every actor can learn something by watching her on screen.
Then, Seyfried almost makes up for Dear John as the everygirl heroine who wants to be Julia Roberts for the iPod generation. The audience feels her pain as the fiancée doesn't give her the attention he should. They cheer for her as she meets the new Mr. Right, and worry that true love won't be found for poor, sweet Sophie. Worse yet, they are afraid she might be stuck with that lout (even though he does have the cute European accent and a hot booty)! Much of this is because Seyfried is likable, relatable and is skilled at showing us how Sophie wears her heart on her sleeve.
Sure, it's not surprising, but Letters to Juliet is full of amazing scenery, brings a laugh to your lips, and makes you want to believe in true love even with vomit-inducing dialogue like, "when we are speaking of true love, it is never too late." If you can make it through that line, you can survive the movie.
2 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)
Letters to Juliet is rated PG for brief rude behavior, some language and incidental smoking.
