Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal, Christopher Egan, Vanessa Redgrave
Directed by Gary Winick
Rated: PG
Run Time: 104 mins
Genre: Romance/ Comedy/ Drama
4 frames out of 5
True Love knows no boundaries of time or distance.
Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) works as a fact checker for the New Yorker. She dreams of being an aspiring writer but is too shy to speak up for herself or show anyone her work. Her fiancé, Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal) is passionate about food. He loves food so much that he is in the process of opening a trendy New York restaurant. Sophie and Victor are planning a pre-honeymoon to Verona so Victor can check out vendors for his restaurant. Sophie hopes to spend time with Victor but quickly realizes that his focus (as usual) is more on food & the restaurant than on her.
Victor ditches Sophie to go check out a supplier 120 km away (that’s about 75 miles) and leaves her to roam the streets of Verona alone. During her wandering she comes across the House of Capulet and sees all of these letters being written to Juliet. Sophie is intrigued and pulls out her trusty notebook. Some time has passed and Sophie notices that she is all alone. A woman has come to collect all the letters off the wall and Sophie follows her. Turns out, that there are women that volunteer their time to answer the letters written to Juliet. They call themselves the Secretaries of Juliet. Sophie has nothing better to do since Victor was being a douche, so she hangs out with the ladies for the next few days.
One letter she finds stuffed in the wall, aged by time. The desperate plea to Juliet strikes a chord in Sophie. She writes back to the tearful letter asking what young woman should do. Funny thing is the letter is from the 1950’s and who knows if Sophie’s letter will find the rightful owner.
Well wouldn’t you know… that letter that Sophie wrote did find its way to that woman, Claire (Vanessa Redgrave). Her grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan) has accompanied Claire to find her Lorenzo. Charlie thinks his grandmother is nuts and is angry, skeptical and ready to jump down Sophie’s throat (literally & figuratively) at any moment. Sophie thinks there’s a great story here and asks to accompany them on their journey to find Claire’s Lorenzo. Along the way, Claire, Charlie and Sophie realize that though they are strangers, love can bring people together in the strangest ways.
At first glanced of the trailer, this looks like a predictable, cheesy chick flick. Yet while watching it I was pleasantly surprised. For most of the movie I had a smile on my face and it did not fade when I left the theater. Letters to Juliet is guy friendly as the character of Charlie is pretty much thinking & say what most guys would say in that situation. This movie reminds me of a movie that stars Robert Downey Jr. & Marisa Tomei – Only You (1994). If you were a fan of that movie, you’ll love this. If you haven’t seen Only You check it out… so good!
Things to watch for: Great scenery, delicious looking food & great chemistry between the old & young lead actor couples.
Who should see this movie: Women, People looking for a good date night movie, Old Couples
See it in the Theater or Rent it on DVD: It’s a great movie for a weekend date night, matinee out with the girls – check it out in theaters. It would also be a great addition to your at home DVD library
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