Letters to Juliet follows lead character Sophie on the typical romantic comedy quest to find true love. At the beginning of the film she is engaged to a young man who is thoroughly engaged in his work starting a new restaurant, so much so that he ignores Sophie more than he should. They take a pre-honeymoon vacation to Italy where Sophie spends much of the time on her own. While exploring Verona, she stumbles upon what is said to be the wall beneath the balcony of Shakespeare's Juliet. Here women write letters to Juliet asking for advice and Sophie soon discovers there are women who write back and Sophie joins them. She discovers an old letter in the wall and writes a thoughtful letter back and meets and elderly woman named Claire and her grandson and sets out on a trip with them to try and find Claire's old love, Lorenzo.
Letters to Juliet is a typical romantic comedy in almost all ways from the set up to the end. This means that there is plenty of romance, the ending is predictable, and unsuprising events keep characters from being together for most of the film. But all the same the film is still enjoyable. Amanda Seyfried gives a spark to her performance that was lacking in her previous romance role of the year, Dear John. The characters are fun and there are plenty of comic moments to make this film more than a eye roller.
Something I very much respect about this film is the target audience. It is one of the only films I know of (at least for a romantic comedy) that targets both a very young and a very old audience at the same time. And it does a good job of succeeding at the same time. Romantic comedies have never been known for their quality in the direction of award status, but rather as quality in their specific genre. It is a chick flick and a pretty good one at that. And within the story there is also breathtaking shots of the countryside of Italy.
When you see it, don't expect too much. It's a typical romantic comedy after all. But it's still enjoyable, as long as you let yourself get immersed in the story.
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