Film Review: Letters to Juliet

I saw Letters to Juliet last night. It was alright, just your typical romance film. It was also predictable, like most romance films. Sophie, played by Amanda Seyfried, is a pretty cute, non-threatening character. She was made out to be such a push-over in the film, which is the only reason why I really wanted her to have a happy ending. Although the other lead character in the film, Charlie, played by Christopher Egan, is pretty cute with his blonde hair, clear complexion, and beaming blue eyes, he wasn't a very interesting character...or maybe he's just a bad actor. I saw an interview with Seyfried and she said her favorite scenes were with Gael Garcia Bernal (who played her fiance Victor), so apparently Christopher didn't shine on or off the screen.

Other criticisms I have are that there were a lot of car scenes that simply showed Charlie softening over Sophie every time he creepily viewed her from the rear view mirror. I found myself a little bored throughout the movie. Finally, the ending with Charlie climbing the vine to reach Sophie was corny. I was surprised when Sophie confessed her love for Charlie even though he was a rude and uninteresting ass throughout the entire movie. (This is where our society gets the overuse and undeserving use of the L word). I also wanted to laugh out loud when Charlie predictably fell from the vines as he leaned in to kiss Sophie. Wouldn't it have been a nice twist to the Romeo & Juliet re-enactment if Charlie would have broken his neck just after he and Sophie established their mutual love for one another?

Overall, Letters to Juliet was cute, but I could have went without seeing it at the theater. It did make me want to drink some wine though after seeing all the beautiful Italian vineyards.

My film rating: 2/5