Dir: Gary Winick, 2010
Self-doubting fact checker and wannabe writer Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and her passionate restaurateur fiance Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal) go on a pre-wedding honeymoon in Verona, Italy. When Sophie finds herself flying mostly solo, as Victor runs from one distributor to another in preparation for his restaurant's opening, she joins forces with a group of women who reply to missives lovesick ladies write to Juliet (as in Romeo and...) Sophie soon responds to a 50 year old letter and embarks on a journey with Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) and her reluctant grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) to track down Claire's first (and truest?) love.
What follows includes a ton of gorgeous Tuscan scenery, a half dozen (sometimes pervy) old men with the same name as Claire's long lost beau and a little bit of healthy back-and-forthing between Charlie and Sophie. The movie is fun and joyful, but not bursting at the seams. It's packed with beauty, likable characters, laughs, smiles and sunshine. There are a few moments where all of it threatens to overtake you and make you a believer, but for the most part it's a scenic ride over some rolling hills, sans exalting peaks or deep valleys.
Seyfried is ever-adorable and Sophie is very winning because of her, but my real favorite character in this film is Victor. He is hilarious, bufoonish even. He is completely self-absorbed and engrossed in his work, even while vacationing with his lovely fiancee, but I could do little more than shake my head and laugh. He's not a villain, he's not even much of a conflict. He's just comedic gold and I'm glad to see Bernal stretch himself this way. Egan, is, unfortunately the weakest link, but he tries.
Letters to Juliet might be a bit more fun on DVD than on the big screen. Then again, what better place to steal away from the summer heat than a movie theater? And there are worse movies to melt into than this fanciful romance.
No comments:
Post a Comment