The Reel Review
Jill so desperately misses her younger sister who recently died of cancer that she continues to call her mobile number and leave her voicemail updates about her life. But when the number becomes the new work number for real estate agent Wes, he takes it upon himself to meet her. Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson star in this romantic comedy.
First, the negatives – the meet-cute premise itself is contrived and actually pretty strange, since anyone with very basic knowledge of mobile phones knows that when a number is disconnected, it will quickly be recycled for someone else’s use. Why leave voicemails for a stranger? Additionally, the screenplay from actress/writer/director Leah McKendrick (Scrambled, Destroy the Alpha Gammas) is eye-rollingly corny, with a very predictable, not so twisty plot twist and, and with a two hour runtime, is 30 minutes too long. Add to that an underwhelming Robinson (Love, Simon), whose lack of onscreen chemistry with Deutch makes Wes come off more as a creeper than a love interest.
Deutch, however, is an absolute delight, charismatically capturing both Jill’s struggle of making her career as a pastry chef come true alongside the gut-wrenching grief of losing her sister and best friend. Tearful moments abound, along with some funny ones with Nick Offerman as Jill’s “Temu version of Gordon Ramsey” chef/boss and Lukas Gage (The White Lotus) as her spiteful colleague/one-time hookup. Deutch, along with some amazing scenic vistas of McKendrick’s native San Francisco and tunes from pop star Robyn, makes Voicemails from Isabelle much better than it should have been.
REEL FACTS
• Although set in San Francisco, production spent only three days filming there, with most of the movie shot in Vancouver, Canada, including the scene at the popular local Mexican restaurant Taqueria Playa Tropical, which doubles as Jose’s in the film.
• Hailee Steinfeld was originally attached to star in an earlier version of the film in 2019.
• In addition to writing and directing the film, Leah McKendrick also co-stars as Wes’ friend Breeda.
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