To simply sum it up, Voicemails for Isabelle is an absolute delight to watch. As a rom-com connoisseur, I’ve fallen prey to the predictability of the storylines and it often makes it harder for me to enjoy such films. There are, however, some films that unravel in the most fun way and Voicemails for Isabelle is one of them.
Jill and Izzy are the most amazing sisters with the most wonderfully pictured bond. Izzy leaves the story midway as she succumbs to her cancer but her spirit lingers on as Jill cannot move on from her death and leaves her voicemails narrating the happenings of her everyday life. Of course, she’s eccentric in the most adorable way while at it. As a struggling bakery chef working for a narcissistic, almost idiotic boss, she has a way to go in figuring her life out but for once, Jill’s is a character that I truly admired because there is some personality to her. She’s not that stereotypical manic pixie dust girl that makes the hero fall in love with her just because. Her personality is driven by her deep love for her sister and her family, and a passion for baking. I wouldn’t say its extremely deep; but it is certainly authentic and easily admirable.
Izzy’s phone number is inherited by Wes, a successful real estate agent after her death who ends up receiving the voicemails Jess left for her. A romance follows as he tracks her down and befriends her. Anyone would expect that the two of them are bound to cosy up, Jill will discover that he has been receiving her voicemails and they’ll part ways in hostility and eventually rekindle again – that’s just how rom-coms work. Yes, that’s exactly what happens here as well but its still fun and heart-warming to watch. Like the line in the movie goes ‘Sometimes, life rigs things in our favour,’ the cast and the aesthetics and the perfect pace of the movie rig the predictability score and make the movie totally worthwhile.
Modern rom-coms are actually doing quite well incorporating technology into stories of the heart. Voicemails to Isabelle isn’t exactly a unidirectional storyline – the elements of Jill’s relationship with her family and her journey as a chef add some depth as well. Also, the lead duo make an adorable couple and its easy to root for them. Wes, though a low-key stalker, is easy to like and we can’t really point a finger at him for taking the route to love he did. In all, Voicemails to Isabelle is a cute, worthwhile rom-com that I’m adding to the ‘loved’ list.
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