Letters to Juliet

The classic 'never realized romance' comes onto the screen in this cliche of a movie, like many we have seen before. And not just the never realized romance, but they threw in a will they or won't they new romance in the thick of it as well, just to tease us.

Main character Sophie, played by Amanda Seyfried, ventures to Italy with her fiance (well, sort of, I mean come on...where is the ring Sophie?) and ends up on an adventure of sorts on her own instead. Sophie is a budding journalist who attempts to play Juliet in writing Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) a letter of reply after 50 years of silence regarding her long lost love. Claire visits Italy with her grandson, all go on an adventure to find the long lost love, and of course Sophie and grandson Charlie (Chris Egan) end up falling in love in the process. What is a girl to do? In love with two men and in the heart of Tuscany! This is just too painful! I was honestly surprised that Vanessa Redgrave accepted this odd role in the first place. She is a legend for goodness sake, and been in more leading roles then I can count. Her performance was not up to par in this film, though I believe it wasn't a fault of her own at all.

I had not seen Christopher Egan in any other role before this one, which, unfortunately for him, did not work in his favor. Though he was more lively then Amanda Seyfried, he still fell flat a bit for me. He is cute, don't get me wrong, and did deliver his lines well and with some passion, but all in all, the performance was not extremely memorable.

Which bring us to Amanda. Oh Amanda Amanda....what were you thinking? Well, maybe the point is that she just plain wasn't thinking at all. Honestly, this role could have been SO much more then what was given to it. I usually adore Amanda (Mama Mia anyone?), but her performance was completely non-existent throughout the entire film. Yes, the dialog was extremely limp which would make it hard for any actor. But, her expressions and passion were not even present, she didn't bring anything to the main character! She was flat out boring, sad to say. Lines were boring, expressions were boring, there were even multiple scenes with her just walking around looking bored out of her mind. Not animated at all and definitely did not bring ANYTHING to this role. Sorry Amanda....

I think that this story could have been more light, funny, charming, and smart. It felt like it was simply thrown together without much thought to it. Honestly, the editing was odd, the music didn't fit, the lines were stuck in in weird places. Or just plain cheesy lines like "Can you move? Only my lips!" and "When we are speaking about love, it is never too late." Please make it stop!

Though the overall film it did appeal to my romantic side, I could not look past the awkwardness of some scenes, lines, and script. I think this film could have been 100 times better if told correctly. The only redeeming part of it was the beautiful Italian countryside, which made me want to hop on a plane as soon as possible. I give it a three diaper day, mediocre.

Bummer.....