A wall in Verona, Italy is adorned with letters written by the broken-hearted and the confused seeking guidance from the ‘Secretaries of Juliet’, and it is on this premise the film is based. The question is: can this film break the typical rom-com predictability?
Amanda Seyfried, of Mamma Mia! fame, plays lead female Sophie, who is on a pre-wedding holiday with her fiancé Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal). Victor is a self-obsessed chef and Sophie an aspiring writer—as odd a couple as Cher and Gene Simmons once were. Upon visiting the wall of letters, Sophie meets the ‘Secretaries of Juliet’, a team of four older ladies, and begins helping write replies to the letters. Upon responding to one particular letter Sophie inspires pensioner Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) to find her long-lost love, alongside her grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan). Cue the inevitable exploits that come with any rom-com: the breaking and mending of hearts.
First and foremost, the scenery is beautiful, breathtaking in fact. The film is quite charming because of this and the Italian culture it portrays. However, the score is overwhelming in its ploy to induce emotion—it is too sugary sweet; the soundtrack is a little better, but no Mamma Mia!
And the answer to the question of predictability is: no. This film is as predictable as rom-com films can come, but the acting is fairly decent, though the Garcia Bernal is severely underused. The dialogue between Sophie and Charlie was better than expected, with some clever one-liners being rolled out. Despite this, there are far many too clichés used. Vanessa Redgrave definitely stands out and lights up the screen with her acting brilliance, but she doesn’t quite pass for being Claire’s age of sixty-five years old.
Overall, the last twenty-minutes of this film are enjoyable, but how this was dragged out for approaching two-hours is inexcusable. Despite its charm and surprisingly (just about) tolerable dialogue, this is no better than Winick’s previous offering of Bride Wars. I recommend watching a re-run of Notting Hill or other rom-com classics instead, as this will be in the bargain-bin soon enough!
Rating: 2/5