To enjoy a romantic comedy, one must ignore reality, and "Letters to Juliet" is no exception.
But in exchange for suspending real-world wisdom for a bit - like the fact that basing major decisions on a couple of good dates never ends well - a film should provide smart characters, unexpected twists and a bearable amount of mushy dialogue.
"Letters to Juliet" fails at all three, despite a cast that includes Gael García Bernal of "Amores Perros" and "The Motorcycle Diaries," Amanda Seyfried of "Mean Girls" and "Mamma Mia," and film and television icon Vanessa Redgrave, along with director Gary Winick of "13 Going on 30" and writer Jose Rivera of "Motorcycle Diaries."
The movie starts strong with an interesting idea but fizzles as the story progresses.
A vacation to Italy for Sophie (Seyfried), a magazine fact-checker, and her fiancé, Victor (Bernal), quickly turns into a tour of potential food and wine vendors for Victor's new restaurant.
Artisan cheese, olive oil drizzled on homemade bread and private tours of vineyards make Sophie grimace, so she sets off to sightsee alone.
In Verona, she discovers a group of volunteers who answer letters left at the fictional home of Juliet by throngs of weeping women. She sees this as a story that will help her become a journalist, much like the goal of the heroines in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Never Been Kissed."
Sophie's English skills are needed by the advice group despite the apparently fluent English spoken by every person in Italy, and she responds to a letter sent 50 years ago by Claire (Redgrave) asking if she should return to her Italian love.
Claire, who isn't the least bit annoyed when she finds out the letter that so easily convinced her to come back after so many years was written by a bubbly woman a third her age, brings her grandson, Charlie (Christopher Egan). Charlie meanly insults Sophie until, for some reason, he loves her.
Then they smash gelato on each other's noses.
The rest of the movie can be guessed from here. Lorenzo, played by Redgrave's real-life husband, Franco Nero, finally shows up - on a horse - and there's more than one balcony scene accompanied by groan-worthy dialogue: Sophie to Charlie after a fall, "Can you move?" "Only my lips."
These actors deserve better, and so do those who watch romantic comedies.
'Letter to Juliet'
Our grade: C-
Genres: Drama, Romance
Running Time: 105 minutes
MPAA rating: PG
Release Date: May 14, 2010
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