A character in Leah McKendrick's Voicemails for Isabelle calls Nick Robinson's Wes a man with sad eyes, which makes him look like a wounded pup. It's an accurate description and also an apt explanation that accentuates why Robinson, in the film, seems so attractive, so admirable. Those droopy eyes and that sad-looking face instantly make you want to cuddle him, and when Wes smiles, his winsome "melancholic" visage transforms into boyish cuteness that almost tries to leap off the screen to flutter the hearts of the audience. In contrast, Zoey Deutch, as Jill, explodes like a firecracker. She is energetic, dynamic, and constantly in motion. Even when she cries, she doesn't seem...still. There is always something going on on Jill's face; it's alive and restless, probably because she is passionately pursuing her dream of becoming a baker under a boss who's an expert at stressing out his workers. He is Chef Bastien, whom Nick Offerman plays with a combination of clownlike energy and a male-chauvinistic attitude. He would rather hand a promotion to an incompetent man than acknowledge the skills of a female cook.
All these characters, including the ones played by McKendrick, Gil Bellows, Tanis Dolman, and Ciara Bravo, work well in isolation. You admire the individual performances, though when these people join each other for a scene, you don't feel any chemistry or intimacy between them. There is a lack of mental and physical connection, which essentially reduces Voicemails for Isabelle to a collection of competently performed soliloquies rather than a moving, involving romantic drama. Robinson and Deutch are fine actors, and the latter's Jill often talks about her desire to feel like Meg Ryan in a rom-com (You've Got Mail is explicitly mentioned). McKendrick does summon the classic tropes with sincere affection, though what's missing from her efforts is a sense of palpability, an ineffable endearing charm, and a razor-sharp wit that makes us root for the lovers. In place of real, tangible emotions, what the writer-director provides is a simulation of heartfelt romance. She gets the lyrics right; she gets the song right. But where is the soul?
I think McKendrick would have made an extremely engaging love story out of the relationship between Jill and her sister Isabelle (Bravo). The latter suffers from a serious medical condition, so she lives vicariously through Jill's personal experiences, asking Jill about her first kiss and the fights she got into at school with boys who would make fun of Isabelle's condition. There is even an emotional twist built into these encounters: Jill got into all sorts of trouble to entertain her sister with stories both wild and fun. What's more, Bravo and Deutch share stronger chemistry than anyone else in the film. McKendrick could have given us a potent sibling drama, rather than using Isabelle and the voice notes as little more than narrative devices that unite and (temporarily) separate the main couple. It's not that McKendrick fumbles the boy-girl, meet-cute aspect. She proceeds competently, with goodwill and pleasing moments (a "Grand Opening" board "cries" due to the rain, like the letter that "cries" due to the rain in Casablanca).
Nonetheless, Voicemails for Isabelle is too safe, too mild to leave much of an impact. It moves with smooth, mechanical precision. McKendrick doesn't risk making you uncomfortable or sending you into a frenzy with rambunctious humor (Jill's embarrassing comments are just oh-so-sweet and lovable). There is something cautious about the film's no-frills, no-thrills style of filmmaking, which keeps the viewers sedate, happy, and sufficiently satiated. The movie is consciously made and calculated for warmth. It aims to keep you content by coloring within the lines. McKendrick's rom-com is more interested in checking all the necessary boxes. Hence, instead of driving itself toward emotional or comedic extremes, it remains sober and comfortable. Voicemails for Isabelle is what one refers to as "not bad," "nice," "watchable." That's what keeps it from being truly exciting, intense, or memorable.
Final Score - [5.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
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Publisher at Midgard Times