Voicemails for Isabelle is writer/director Leah McKendrick’s answer to You’ve Got Mail for today’s times. Zoey Deutch stars and instantly makes history as one of the most charismatic stars of a rom-com ever.
This fabulously funny and touching movie begins with Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.” Here’s a song with an upbeat vibe that connects two sisters: Isabelle (Ciara Bravo), who has cystic fibrosis, and the older Jill (Deutch), a chef in training.
When Isabelle passes away, Jill needs to feel connected to her sister, so she calls Isabelle’s old phone number and leaves voicemails telling her sister her deepest desires and the escapades she experiences in day-to-day life.
One problem, though: A successful real estate guy named Wes (Nick Robinson) is getting the voicemails as he has inherited Isabelle’s old cell phone number. What’s a nice, newly single guy to do except yearn to get to know this mysterious voice on the other end of the phone?
Voicemails for Isabelle has so much fun with its premise and includes very likable co-stars. McKendrick, herself, appears as a genuine and funny friend of Wes’ who’s engaged to one of Wes’ dearest friends, Andy (Harry Shum Jr.).
There is something about McKendrick’s new movie that is simply magical. It’s got the old-fashioned feel of something like Sleepless in Seattle, but it also has an original comic and dramatic edge to it that makes it so much more accessible to viewers than the typical rom-coms that come out these days.
Deutch has never been better. She’s so alive and vulnerable in her role that her comic line deliveries play like gangbusters. Deutch cracks zingy one-liners quicker than Toy Story 5 will make $100 million at the box office. That’s really fast.
There is a subplot about Jill’s cooking assignment that feels like it comes straight from last year’s average movie, We Live in Time. However, Deutch pulls off those scenes and makes them rise above the level they are at in the screenplay.
She knows how to show emotion and have fun on-screen, and the audience will adore the terrifically precise energy that she displays so effectively on-screen.
Nick Robinson is a revelation as Wes, and the actor scores big-time playing a likable guy, who even takes over for a tour guide in San Francisco when the original guide quits on the spot. Robinson and Deutch have chemistry that sizzles on the movie screen or on the TV screen, wherever you may end up watching it.
Netflix movies are not usually at the level of quality that Voicemails for Isabelle is at. McKendrick is so gifted as a performer and as a filmmaker that the film soars in the romance department as it sheds light on the human condition and how people cope with new love and loss in unique ways.
While it’s certainly going to make viewers feel a wide range of emotions, there’s nothing but positive vibes that Voicemails for Isabelle ultimately gives off. Deutch and Robinson give 100% to their roles, and we can feel their chemistry come to life right before our eyes in each key scene in McKendrick’s feel-good gem.
Although some people may think that this movie is an ordinary rom-com from the advertisements, it’s anything but your typical romance.
This is a movie that has something for everyone and never sells the audience short with any of its plot developments. For example, Jill starts a food truck as an alternate business, and things go wrong at first, which makes the development feel real instead of just a plot device to advance the storyline.
Voicemails for Isabelle is among the very best movies you’ll see this year. McKendrick loves her characters, and she respects them. These people learn lessons and have pizzazz that makes the viewer want to stay beside them through all their ups and downs.
“Dancing on My Own” is played to equal levels of success in the new film as “Pink Pony Club,” which was so important at the end of Scrambled, that other great movie from McKendrick.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see this new winner rom-com that will capture your heart from the first moments all the way until the absolutely romantic concluding ones.
Voicemails for Isabelle is now streaming on Netflix.
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Thomas Duffy
Thomas Duffy is a Critics Choice member who has written film reviews for most of his life, starting at age 11 when he crafted his first full length movie critique on the film, "Roxanne," a Cyrano story featuring Steve Martin. As a result of that review and other movie obsessive writing, Thomas was awarded a creative writing award in sixth grade. Thomas is the proud author of nine books, including two highly acclaimed novels, "To Never Know" and "Social Work." Thomas can be found on X (formerly known as Twitter) or at a New York City movie theater watching the latest hit or independent movie. You can also run into him at Tribeca or at the New York Film Festival.