Applehead Pictures and Summit Entertainment produced a terrific film for the genre it lives in: the romantic comedy. Although I am a girl, I do not usually attend these “chick flick adventures”, however, “Letters to Juliet” was an enjoyable film that just made you feel good. How the plot of the picture flowed so well is slightly debatable. From the in-depth screen time that it gave to the country hill sides of Italy to the hokey love story that ties into one of Shakespeare’s classics, it left me with one thought: gosh I want to travel to Verona and fall in love, with a hot Italian of course!
“Letters to Juliet” is about a woman named Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who is a fact checker for The New Yorker, however, as typical aspirations go, she yearns to be a writer. The audience soon discovers that she and her finance Victor (Gael Garcia-Bernal) are traveling to Verona as sort of their pre-honey moon, since they are not yet married. As the trip beings, however, it’s far from idealistic. Victor is a chef and is obsessed with travelling to all of the vineyards to try out Italy’s most salivating wine and cheese. Sophie’s plan all along was to sight see. For me, traveling with my boyfriend to vineyards in Italy sounds like a dream, however, to Sophie its not. The two decide to adventure on their own, which leads Sophie to Juliet’s Capulet’s house, a historical landmark one must visit while they are in Verona. There, she sees woman all over writing letters to Juliet asking for advice, on none other than love. Soon she befriends the “secretaries of Juliet” who slave away at answering all of these questions; they’re all very dedicated. Of course Sophie joins the team and discovers a love letter written 50 years ago, so naturally she responds, and thus her adventure beings.
Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) arrives to Verona with her hotheaded grandson after receiving Sophie’s response. She, like many of the other ladies, is on the prowl for her long lost love Lorenzo, whom she had a love affair with when she was just 15 years old. Sophie and her grandson Charlie initially butt heads, which only stimulates their sexual tension. As their adventure continues on the search for Lorenzo, within the landscape of Sienna the sparks fly between the two. With their hard work, laughter, tears and upsets, Claire eventually finds her Lorenzo in a heart felt embrace.
As for the ending my friends, you will have to tune in to see what happens. But, in any romantic love story, it does give audiences their much-desired Hollywood ending; so do not expect something out of the ordinary. “Letters to Juliet” is a movie that cannot be heavily analyzed, for one must take it as it is: pure entertainment. Seyfried gives a descent performance, however, at times I could not tell if she was acting or just rattling off her lines. Her scenes with the classic Vanessa Redgrave were believable; however, Redgrave provided her some craft to work with. Bernal’s portrayal as the self-centered Victor was a bit witty mixed with comedic elements. Fans of Bernal are used to seeing him in dramas, so to see him in a comedic role was different; for better or for worse. Although he had a descent amount of lines in the film, most of them alternated from “this is unbelievable” to his infamous “win-win” line; in reference to food, not his fiancé Sophie.
Finally, what makes “Letter to Juliet” work as a romantic film was that its entire story unfolded and ended in Italy. New York was a minor location; a location that represented reality. Italy was their fairy tale land. What made Claire and Lorenzo’s encounter so special, was that it did not take place in Central park, but it took place on a vineyard in Italy, a place where you know the wine is good, pure and lacks preservatives. I can honestly tell all of you that I was more captivated by the scenery of Italy, rather than the story, however, combining the two (Italy and the love story) made for an adorable romantic comedy.
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