movie review: Letters to Juliet

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Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love
The backstory: While chick flicks aren't normally my first choice of films, I thought the trailer for this film was fantastic. Seriously, I cried all of the four times I saw it. It's set in Verona, a city I happen to love, and it stars Amanda Seyfried, whom I have adored since Mamma Mia! 


The basics: The trailer is pretty awesome in its own right, but Amanda Seyfried plays Sophie, a fact-checker for The New Yorker who dreams of writing for it instead. She's engaged to Victor, played by Gael Garcia Bernal, a restaurateur who doesn't really prioritize their relationship. The two set off on a pre-honeymoon a few weeks before their wedding to Verona. Victor is more interested in meeting vendors and going to a wine auction than spending time with the delightful Sophie, who soon makes friends with the women who answer the letters to Juliet.  Sophie happens to find a very, very old letter and writes back.


My thoughts: Most of this film is cute and fun to watch. Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave shine. Verona and Tuscany almost deserve primary billing, as they are the true stars of this film. Watching the characters journey through Tuscany made me feel like I was back there. As expected in romantic films, the last ten minutes were almost unbearable for me. It was so over the top I was laughing out loud (there was a painfully awkward balcony scene involved). While it didn't ruin the movie for me, it did keep it from being great. Also, I found Christopher Egan (the male lead) to be rather uncompelling. He belonged as the male lead in a Mary Kate and Ashley movie, not alongside Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave. As one friend noted, the male characters would have been better off trading characters. It's still worth seeing, but I recommend waiting for dvd so you can have a glass bottle of wine with the characters and feel like you're on vacation too.


The verdict: Wait for dvd and enjoy it with a glass bottle of Montepulciano (Tuscany's best!) with you.


Rating: 3.75 stars
Length: 
Publication date: It's in theaters now.
Source: I paid to see it at the Spectrum

Here I am, circa December 2006, in the very courtyard featured so prominently in the film rubbing Juliet's boob for good luck.



As an Amazon affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 5, 2010 at 8:14 AM

    I've been to see that statue, too! Only I declined to rub her boob.

    ReplyDelete
  2. S. KrishnaJune 5, 2010 at 9:59 AM

    I am a sucker for romantic comedies, so glad this one was pretty good! I'll probably wait for it on DVD.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AmusedJune 5, 2010 at 6:20 PM

    I love a cheesy movie sometimes and this one kind of suckers me in for some reason. I'll be renting it for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  4. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaJune 5, 2010 at 8:08 PM

    LOL...loved the photo; hope it brought you good luck :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJune 6, 2010 at 11:53 AM

    That picture is hilarious!!! I think I'm going to wait for this one on DVD because I feel like I already know how it's going to end just from watching the preview

    ReplyDelete
  6. WEB SHERIFFJune 7, 2010 at 8:16 AM

    WEB SHERIFF
    Who You Gonna Call
    Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
    Fax 44-(0)208 323 8080
    websheriff@websheriff.com
    www.websheriff.com

    Hi nomadreader,

    On behalf of Summit Entertainment, many thanks for plugging "Letters to Juliet" ... .. thanks also, on behalf of the distributors and producers, for not posting any pirate copies or non-trailer clips of "Letters to Juliet" and, if you / your readers want good quality, non-pirated, previews, then the official trailer is available for fans and bloggers to post / host / share etc at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/summit/letterstojuliet/ ... .. for further details of on-line promotions for this movie, check-out www.letterstojuliet-movie.com/ and, for info on Summit releases generally, check-out the official site and YouTube channel at www.summit-ent.com and www.youtube.com/user/summitscreeningroom.

    Thanks again for your plug.

    Regards,

    WEB SHERIFF

    ReplyDelete
  7. Melissa (Avid Reader)June 8, 2010 at 3:59 PM

    I know these tend to be cheesy, but I can't help myself. I heard Vanessa's real husband plays her long lost love.

    ReplyDelete

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