After several friends recommended Netflix’s “Voicemails for Isabelle” I finally caved and watched it last weekend.
Oddly enough, I found myself roped in due to the hilarious moments Isabelle underwent while trying to get her life together in San Francisco – including navigating modern dating.
It’s definitely an angle that most young adults can see mirroring a portion of their life at any given moment and I give kudos for that.
But, like any other quintessential rom-com, it’s got its own fair share of drama and some of those moments are aggravating to say the least.
Still, I found the movie to be rather enjoyable despite the main characters doing all the cliché dating fauxpas possible.
Isabelle is a romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Leah McKendrick and starring Zoey Deutch, Nick Offerman, Ciara Bravo, Lukas Gage, Toby Sandeman, Leah McKendrick, Harry Shum, Jr., and Nick Robinson.
The flick is rated TV 14, which is basically a PG-13 rating for some profanity, alcohol, and nudity.
It clocks in at 118 minutes long and doesn’t have any post-credit scenes.
Jill (Deutch) is an aspiring baker living in San Francisco and working under the demanding and abusive Chef Bastien (Offerman).
She regularly relays her life to her sister Isabelle (Bravo) by phone almost every day.
Isabelle is a longtime cystic fibrosis patient who lives back home in Austin.
After Isabelle’s death, Jill starts leaving voicemails on her number, unaware that it has been reassigned to Austin-based real estate agent Wes (Robinson).
Wes becomes invested in Jill’s life after listening to the voicemails she leaves Isabelle.
He learns about Jill’s dates with her co-worker Arthur (Gage) and dating podcaster Tyler (Sandeman), and her desire to become a baker.
Wes eventually realizes Isabelle is dead, but continues to fixate on Jill, against the advice of his engaged friends Andy (Shum) and Breeda (McKendrick).
After Tyler ghosts her, Jill crashes a live taping of his podcast and calls him out.
Wes, who convinced his boss to send him on a work trip to San Francisco, also attends the event and follows her as she leaves.
He finds and meets Jill at her usual spot overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.
Invoking their shared Texas backgrounds, Wes invites her for tacos, and they bond.
Jill agrees to show him around San Francisco while he’s in town.
On a tour bus, Jill tells Wes that she is unsure of her career.
After the guide quits, he takes over, entertaining the riders, and encourages and serenades Jill.
Wes is kicked off the bus, but she steps off and kisses him.
Jill makes Wes dinner, including a chicken pot pie in the style of his mother’s, and confides that she learned to cook while keeping her sick sister company at home.
A conflicted Wes fails to tell Jill about the voicemails.
Wes brings Jill as his date to Breeda and Andy’s wedding.
At the reception, she tries to leave a voicemail for Isabelle, but realizes Wes’s phone is receiving the call.
Disgusted, she confronts him and leaves. Jill is devastated to lose the voicemails after a software update.
Bastien promotes Arthur to baker despite turning in a raw souffle, causing Jill to fly into a rage and quit.
It’s worth noting that Jill has finally reached enough stamps on her dance card to make the leap for her future.
Overall, the movie has its ups and downs, but the ending is pretty happy and adorable, so it works out in my book.
