320, Voicemails for Isabelle

If you fancy a cute, sad, sexy & adorable little Romcom ready to watch at home - then this move from Netflix has you covered.

(Some plot spoilers) Voicemails for Isabelle is the tale of two sisters - one living the 'teenage kicks' lifestyle while her younger, cancer stricken sister stays at home and lives her party lifestyle though her sisters experiences, albeit more often than not at the end of a phone line.  They are as one - completely devoted to each other until their early 20's when Isabelle sadly passes away.

Grief Stricken by the loss of her beloved sister - Jill (Zoey Deutch - Anniversary / Not Okay) starts leaving voicemails on Isabelle's still active mobile - keeping her updated on life's loves and events however - unbeknown to Jill, Isabelle's number has been re-assigned to property broker Wes (Nick Robinson - Jurassic World) who gets these voicemails and instead of letting Jill know, continues to listen into all Jill's deepest 'sister' secrets during which time - this lost little lamb falls in love with the voice on the end of the line and decides to seek her out.

Of course - we all know he should immediately let her know the truth, but, for the sake of a plot - decides to play the innocent stranger, almost meeting as 'fate intended' and over the course of a few weeks, gets romantically involved with Jill - much to her delight and total confusion, as it's playing out how she dreamed it would (and we know why!) but of course - you can sense the crash is forthcoming when it all comes out and cue Act 3, if they'll ever actually make it through.

That's the plot - great idea, we have sort of seen it before with movies such as Love Again in 2023 (almost identical), You've Got Mail (1998), The Lake House (2006) & P.S I Love You (2007) but this one carries way more giggles and has a bit more sex appeal than the others all combined.

It's fair to say Jill's not backwards in coming forwards (early on) with cheeky encounters with media influences & creepy colleagues (all ending in disaster of course) while on the other hand - Wes is publicly dumped and hopeless at moving on, until he hears Jill's voicemails and becomes intent on seeking her out.

Set across Texas and San-Francisco, we also meet Wes' besties Andy & Breeda, a 'too sweet' couple determined to make sure Wes is happy and content, almost to be considered his voice of reason and on Jill's side - ever present Mom and Dad - Tanis Dolman (Fire Country) & Gill Bellows (Shawshank Redemption / Ally McBeal) as the parents intent on making sure Isabelle's memory lives on and Jill gets all the support she needs.  

Smaller roles - Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation) is Jill's awful Chef Boss - played with an air of sarcasm but very funny and (Adult) Isabelle herself, Ciara Bravo (Sadly, nothing I've seen her in prior) is totally adorable.  Finally, the sisters as 'younger' siblings are played brilliantly by Alice Comer and Iris Everly.

The chemistry between all the cast here works really well - Zoey & Nick are great on screen together, as are Andy & Breeda (Harry Shum Jr. & Leah McKendrick) and if you're thinking Zoey Deutch looks familiar - well, she is not the daughter of Rose Byrne, as I believed - although on research, they are only 15yrs apart in age (not sure who I'm offending more with that comment!) - but she is the daughter of Back to the Future legend Leah Thompson. 

It'll make you laugh - it's a bit sexy (nudity safe) - and it might make you cry, but all in all, it's another solid offering from Netflix.

If you're wondering if it will ever carry the same gravitas as the comparable films detailed above, well - that will all depend on how well Zoey & Nick do over the coming decades compared to the likes of Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan,  Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Hillary Swank & Gerard Butler.  We will just have to wait and see!

Fancy watching the Trailer?   Click Below.........