Culture

Directed by Gary Winnick
(2.5/5)

In Letters to Juliet, an interesting premise leads to a uninteresting rom-com. Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is an aspiring journalist. She and her fiancé, Viktor, travel to Verona together. But the trip isn’t as romantic as she’d hoped: Viktor blatantly ignores her most of the time, making you wonder how they ever got as far as engagement.
Sophie finds solace in reading the letters written to Juliet Capulet by other uncertain young women from all over the world. She finds one dated 1957, writes back – and within the week, the woman, now an older lady, Clare (Vanessa Redgrave), and her dashing grandson Charlie (Home and Away’s Chris Egan, sporting an English accent) appear in Verona. Clare intends to right the wrongs of her past and find the man she never married.
It becomes an escapade. Clare and Sophie pursue the elusive Lorenzo, and Charlie sulks and resents Sophie in the background. Then: surprise, surprise, Charlie is not so horrid after all. In fact, he is a stand-up gentleman. But Sophie is engaged to the biggest idiot in America! What to do?
Both tales end as you’d expect. The film ends up being nothing more than a regurgitation of tired plotlines, set against a sunny Italian backdrop. The final love scene is worst of all – clichés every way you turn. But this is the genre of romantic comedy – and, as long as you’re female, you’ll be able to overlook Letters to Juliet’s faults and leave the cinema with a smile.