Rosaline

6⭐s

Rosaline was a modern and refreshing take on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" with overall great acting, good directing, stunning costumes, and beautiful sets and locations. Kaitlyn Dever delivered such a compelling and amusing performance as Rosaline, I would love to watch a more serious and mature version of this film with her as the main character. Even though the screenplay was extremely modern-day in tone, it was also both astoundingly satirical and witty. If this movie was made in the 2000's, it certainly would have been a big hit. I am quite sure teens and young adults (intended target audience) will still enjoy their time watching it.

10.14.2022.

The last two performances by Kaitlyn Dever I've seen were in "Unbelievable" (about a teenager's rape that almost nobody seems to believe) and "Dopesick" (about a tragic opioid-fueled death), so my guess is that Miss Dever wanted to lighten things up with a fun, goofy comedy. It turns out, she's good at that too! This movie is loosely (and I do mean loosely) based on Will Shakespeare's iconic tale of the star-crossed lovers, with Dever playing Romeo's ex-girlfriend, Rosaline, whom he totally forgets about when Isabela Merced's Juliet enters the picture. With some equally fun support from Bradley Whitford, as Rosaline's dad, and Minnie Driver as her quick witted nurse, Janet, this movie moves along its predictable path with a fair amount of good humor. I am giving this an extra star because Kaitlin Dever has been (rightly) touted as a future superstar since 2013, and her relatively low-key success continues nine years later. Even in trivial films.

It was different from that what I've seen in the last few months, first I didn't know what I can expect from a movie like this. With the short playing time of 90 minutes, I didn't expect that much story and it was the exact amount of story for the time. No useless stretched story and a clear endpoint. Overall was the story something else, it was modern and fresh but the choice of music was a little bit too modern in my opinion. Another point of my criticism is that acting. I love Kaitlyn Dever and enjoyed her performance in Dopesick. In that movie, she wasn't bad but for me, she felt a little bit misplaced in the role. It didn't fit that well in my opinion. But overall a solid movie you can watch if you need something refreshing.

Every kid who has to read Romeo and Juliet will enjoy this. It has everything a teenage girl needs...a spunky heroine, a very (very!) cute leading man and a Taylor Swift song over the closing credits.

Romeo bears a bit of a resemblence to the late Heath Ledger. The wonderful Bradley Whitford and Minnie Driver shine in small but pivotal roles and while the plot is predictable, there are enough small twists and turns to make it fun.

As a standalone for younger kids, it will be fine. If you introduce them to the actual story of Romeo and Juliet first, they will get more out of it. One well-deserved profanity and very little violence.

Hulu did well with this one.

A lite affair which is loaded with sheer cuteness. The leads are adequate as actors. It's a nice twist on a old tale. The use of modern day colloquial dialog is a nice touch. Nice pacing. Flows really well. Story doesn't drag for a minute. Not a theater release worthy, so having this go straight to HULU is actually the best place to play this film. A nice premise which is managed as well as it could. Turn off your brain and enjoy. Plus Shooter McGavin is in this film. How could you possibly go wrong? 😆 😆 😆 😆.

Watch this on a nice, rainy fall day and you will be glad you did. Not a 10 out of 10 but it's worth watching.