By Tyler Banark

There are various ways one can grieve the death of a loved one. Some people write poetry/journal, and others listen to songs that remind them of their late beloved. There’s no wrong way to grieve someone’s death unless it truly is something that’s morally frowned upon. Zoey Deutch’s character Jill in the new Netflix rom-com, “Voicemails for Isabelle,” leaves a voicemail for her late sister, who died of cancer. While I admit it seems a bit unconventional and definitely different, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as they say. 

Little does Jill know that, since her sister’s death, Wes (Nick Robinson), a real estate agent from Austin, got her number and has been getting her voicemails. He’s intrigued and decides to fly out to San Francisco to meet Jill. While it sounds like a chance encounter and a recipe for a cute little love story, Voicemails for Isabelle being labeled as a rom-com seems a bit off. For one, I barely laughed and found myself cringing at least once throughout. If you think about it, the synopsis is a bit sad, though not so much that it comes across as offensive. 

Jill is written as a woman who has bad luck with love and shares her failed relationships with “Isabelle.” Director Leah McKendrick’s script paints her as someone who’s aware of the typical rom-com cliches and insists she won’t relapse from being “boy sober.” She’s too busy working at a The Bear-like kitchen with a demanding chef (Nick Offerman) that leaves her drained and wanting a better approach to cooking. Taking this approach has me thinking McKendrick wanted this movie to be as meta as possible, but it almost feels like it’s trying too hard. 

Making up for the lacking plot, Deutch proves she’s likely the best leading lady for a rom-com working today. Having quite a few under her belt, she’s proven to be more than capable of working in this genre. Meanwhile, her counterpart, Robinson, has only been notably in the 2018 LGBT teen rom-com Love, Simon. He may not be as experienced as Deutch, but Robinson does offer a nice love interest persona to the film. His chemistry with Deutch is cute enough, and separately, they get the job done, but I did kinda wish they did more. They never go for it as a couple and often feel restrained. This may be part of the writing, which I can not blame Deutch and Robinson for. Yet, they still checked the boxes and made a couple worth our time. 

Voicemails for Isabelle does redeem itself in its soundtrack with fitting needle drops. Most notably, in Taylor Swift’s Marjorie and Robyn’s Dancing On My Own, no song feels out of place and works one way or another. Dancing On My Own serves as the film’s anthem, reminding Jill of Isabelle, as they share a special dance we see them do together in the beginning, when they were little girls. It’s a fitting song given how independent a person Jill was written as. At the same time, it’s catchy and gets listeners up and dancing as it aims to. 

If anything, “Voicemails for Isabelle” won’t stick out much for a Netflix rom-com. Its fate is looking to be another film that teens, couples, and rom-com enthusiasts will stumble across when looking for their next watch. Audiences shouldn’t expect too much from this movie, despite getting done what it was supposed to and being nothing more than what it is.  

 🌟 🌟 🌟 stars