Letters To Juliet: A Review

Letters to Juliet should have been corny, cheesy, but they pulled it off spectacularly. Predictable? YES, but enjoyably so. And the cheesy parts? Exaggerated (brilliant!) as if making a point: it's cheesy! (leaving you thinking: .... but it could happen!?)
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I want to be Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) when I grow up. Claire has aged well, but she's aged indeed and she's not trying to hide it. She is graceful, stylish, serene. Not dottering or angry. At 15, Claire found true love but didn't have the faith for it. It seemed reckless, too good to be true, so she bolted, leaving Lorenzo standing alone, waiting for her. Claire then married the person she was expected to marry and they had a reasonable, well-balanced life til death (his) did they part.
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Then Sophie came on the scene. You'll remember Sophie from Mama Mia, she was Sophie there, too. Movie crossovers - I love 'em!! They narrow the gap between virtual, make believe worlds and real worlds, why not blend the two for pity's sake?
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Sophie (Amanda Seyfried - Mama Mia, Dear John), an engaged young woman herself, is in Italy with her man who is very much ignoring her, caught up in his own life. Sophie finds Claire's ancient break-up letter to Lorenzo, the boy she ditched at 15. Sophie writes Claire and the two meet and begin recklessly searching for Lorenzo, 50 years after Claire last saw him, much to the chagrin of Claire's devoted, elitist, fine-mannered and wildly handsome grandson (Christopher Egan). Sparks fly between said grandson and the betrothed Sophie. (did I mention predictable?)
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Can you rekindle an old flame? Would you allow your 65-year old grandmother to chase after an old dream with possible, probable, heartbreak at the end?
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What if you had a second chance to find true love?

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I have been counting down the days for this movie to open. If I was a true romantic, I would have been at the 12:01 am showing. I'm sure I would be.... if I was 65. I'm going to be like that. But today, I had to work. And I was tired. And I'm in the busy-ness of a middle-aged marriage.
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What did I want from this movie? I wanted to roam the beautiful hills of Tuscany. I wanted to meander through the old cobblestone alleys of Italy, to sit at an outdoor cafe' and feel the furious, passionate Italian language swirl around me, I wanted to curl up in happiness and imagination. The movie delivered.
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Written by Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan, directed by Gary Winick (Bride Wars, 13 Going on 30).
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One to watch: Gael Garcia Bernal who played Victor, Sophie's distracted finance'. Bernal's been in a ton of films, mostly foreign, none of which were wildly successful among American audiences. He began his career in a Mexican soap opera. For real. But keep your eye on him, I think he's just launched. He was hilarious and believable. I loved him even though he was totally self-focused and had no clue about his girlfriend. That's good acting.
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PS. Vanessa Redgrave (Mrs. Dalloway)? At 73 years of age, she's in the midst of four other films, three of which will be released in 2010, the other in 2011. She's unstoppable. When art beckons, she must respond. That is why I want to be Vanessa Redgrave when I grow up.
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Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the Princess
It's a love story, baby just say yes.

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- Love Story, Taylor Swift

Dadgummit. I'm a stupid romantic girly girl.