Movie of the Day-Letters to Juliet

I LOVE chick flicks and this film is the ultimate chick flick!  I saw it in theaters and rushed to rent it  as it came out on DVD last week.  It was cute, sappy, and predictable.  All of this equaling to the perfect chick flick.  It made me laugh, made me have a few tears of joy, and tugged at the strings on my heart.  It also was visually stunning, being mostly filmed in Italy, and had a talented cast.  The cast included Amanda Seyfried, Gael Garcia Bernal, Franco Nero, and legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave.

The story starts with Sophie (Seyfried) and her fiancé Victor (Bernal) jetting off to the land of Romeo and Juliet, Verona , Italy, for a pre-wedding  trip.   Victor spends most of the trip traveling throughout Italy sampling foods and wines for a new restaurant he is about to open in New York, leaving Sophie alone.  Sophie, an aspiring journalist, decides to sit out by Juliet’s balcony and watch women in love leave letters for Juliet.  At the end of the day a lady comes, collects the letters, and takes them away in a basket.    Sophie follows the lady and meets a group of women called the Secretaries of Juliet.  The five women respond to every letter left for Juliet.  The next day Sophie helps the women out and finds a 50 year old letter stuck in the wall under Juliet’s balcony.  It is the letter from a 15 year old Claire asking for advice regarding a guy her parents’ did not approve of.

Sophie responds to Claire’s letter and so the story begins.  A few days later Claire arrives with her grandson, Charlie, played by the charming Christopher Egan.  Claire decides after 50 years she wants to search for her great love Roberto Bartelini, played by her real life husband Franco Nero.  Sophie decides to go on the journey with Claire and Charlie through Italy looking for her Roberto.  In the journey along the way, the originally cold Charlie starts to warm and his and Sophie’s relationship ends up blossoming.  Eventually they come across the correct Roberto, to find out he had lost his spouse like Claire had and they reconnect.  After the reconnection, it is time for Sophie to leave.

Sophie and Victor head back to New York, where Sophie finally gets an article published, a story of her adventures with Claire, and Victor opens his restaurant.  Claire comes to realize Victor and her were not meant to be and that Charlie is her destiny.  Sophie heads to Italy for the wedding for Claire and Roberto, sees Charlie, and you can figure out the rest from there.

This is one of the few movies that I will actually purchase on DVD.  It is a true feel-good movie and a chick-flick for all generations.  With the love story between Sophie and Charlie and the love story between Claire and Roberto, it is one of the few chick flicks that can be appealing to younger and older generations.  So here is to destiny, and to finding your Romeo (or Juliet)!