Voicemails for Isabelle Review – Zoey Deutch Shines in Surprisingly Emotional Romantic Comedy

You’re not always going to be surprised when a movie packs an emotional wallop. And sometimes a movie comes out of nowhere, catches you completely off guard, and affects you in a way you weren’t expecting. Voicemails for Isabelle is a prime example of the latter. While much of it looks the same as your standard fare Netflix original, it packs a serious emotional punch.

What is Voicemails for Isabelle about?

After the death of her sister Isabelle (Ciara Bravo), Jill (Zoey Deutch) copes by leaving voicemails on Isabelle’s phone, telling her all about her life in San Francisco. Whether it’s her struggles as a hopeful pastry chef under the tutelage of obnoxious, domineering Chef Bastien (Nick Offerman) or her latest disaster date, or Jill simply being devastated that she lost her best friend, she leaves nothing out. But soon Isabelle’s number is reassigned, and Austin real estate agent Wes (Nick Robinson) begins receiving the voicemails.

Wes starts to fall for Jill, so he jumps at the chance to take a work trip to San Francisco, where he uses the information from the voicemails to find and meet Jill. The two instantly have a connection. But as that connection grows deeper, and Wes puts off telling Jill the truth, can this budding relationship survive that eventual revelation?

Voicemails for Isabelle review

The opening 20 minutes or so of Voicemails for Isabelle feature some of the best work of any Netflix romantic comedy. There’s an incredibly fun montage showing Jill and Isabelle growing up, showcasing just how close the sisters are. Isabelle has cystic fibrosis and lives vicariously through Jill. Jill always wants to do something big, loud, extravagant, so she has a story to tell Isabelle, always wanting to make her laugh. It’s all table setting to devastate you, along with Jill, when Isabelle inevitably passes away.

This is when Voicemails for Isabelle is at its best, when it focuses on the heavier, more emotional side of the plot. Leah McKendrick, who wrote and directed the movie, showcases a great feel for how hard it is to deal with the death of a loved one, especially someone so young. Even though Isabelle was sick, and this was always a distinct possibility, Jill still can’t prepare herself.

I lost a very close friend our senior year of college, just a few weeks before graduation. Devastating doesn’t even begin to describe it. You’re lost, in a daze, doing all you can to keep your head above water. But you soldier on, and little by little, you start to recover. But there’s always a piece missing, something that can never be replaced. Whether consciously or not, you know this, and you try searching for something, anything, that can fill that void, that can keep that friend, sister, loved one alive in your heart.

And that’s how Jill ends up calling Isabelle and leaving the voicemails. I thought about doing the same thing. But I was afraid that if I did it once, I wouldn’t be able to stop. And I was terrified that someone else would answer, and that would officially signal that she was gone. I knew I couldn’t handle that, at least not then, as a 21-year-old kid who was quickly realizing how brutal and unforgiving life can be, and seemingly for no reason at all.

This can be the power of movies. Forget any flaws in the script for a second, story beats that don’t quite flow. This is a Netflix movie. It’s not supposed to be that serious. But Voicemails for Isabelle resonated with me in a way very few movies have. Movies, man.

Zoey Deutch in Voicemails for Isabelle/Netflix

Even with the vastly different circumstances, watching this still brought memories flooding back. It’s been 15 years and still there are pieces that aren’t fully healed, and likely never will be. That’s okay, though. That doesn’t signal weakness or a failure.

On the flip side, I think it means the love and friendship were real, the laughs and good times were genuine. Still, you can’t dwell on that. Sometimes the best way to honor those we’ve lost is to keep living a good life. That’s what Jill tries to do. She wants to live a life that Isabelle would be proud of. They spent so much time in the kitchen as kids, she thinks working for a big-time, famous chef is the be all, end all. But is her life now actually the life she wants?

These sections of the movie are quite good. Zoey Deutch has always been a strong, versatile actress. If a movie she’s in is ever bad, it will not be because of her. She’s consistently a highlight, regardless of how big her role is. So it’s a treat seeing her here, with the opportunity to show off both her comedic and dramatic chops. And she nails it from the sisterly bond with Isabelle, to the devastation at her passing, to being silly and goofy, and to falling in love with Wes. She conveys every emotion perfectly for what the particular scene calls for.

However, it feels like McKendrick got a little too loose with the script. There are hints of four separate movies. There’s Jill, trying to overcome her grief; Jill and her problems at work; Jill and Wes’s burgeoning relationship. And finally, Wes trying to reform his ways as a morally gray real estate agent and ostensible philanderer.

The Wes-focused parts are the head-scratchers, the clear weak points of the film. There’s a scene early on where he thanks a coworker for hacking texts of potential clients, to give him inside information to help sell them on a big commercial building purchase. It’s supposed to show him being ruthless, that he’ll do anything to win and get ahead. But then that never really comes into play. There are hints of Wes being a bit of a playboy, going from woman to woman, not taking any potential relationships seriously.

Nick Robinson in Voicemails for Isabelle/Netflix

But those parts of Wes are never developed, leaving his character severely underwritten. You end up not fully understanding why Jill would fall for Wes so hard and so fast. The story didn’t need an in-depth examination of him and his past, at least not separate from Jill. The script could have let the audience discover these parts about him along with Jill. This should have been Jill’s story, with a dash of Jill & Wes. It didn’t need so much of the solo Wes side of things.

And that becomes especially apparent any time Voicemails for Isabelle shifts its focus back to Jill and Isabelle. Those are the moments where it shines. The work stuff is okay, with Offerman chewing up the scenery as a cartoonishly arrogant wannabe-superstar-chef. Lukas Gage adds to the work drama as a possible love interest turned rival. And the Jill-Wes relationship has some cute and sweet moments. But even though there are good moments to be found, it’s a bit of an overstuffed story that isn’t able to devote enough time to each of the plot lines it wants to follow.

Voicemails for Isabelle is decently funny throughout, with a couple bigger laughs. Deutch and Robinson make a terrific on-screen duo. So even though you may not buy into their relationship all the way, it’s still fun and pleasant enough to watch them together. Like many of our favorite rom-coms, it has a pretty great soundtrack, featuring Robyn and one incredible Usher needle drop.

As lighthearted as this tries to be at times, the highlight is the heavier material. That is when McKendrick demonstrates true command over the script and direction. This is where her vision and voice are clearest, and Zoey Deutch is able to communicate that with every word, every tear, every laugh.

Is Voicemails for Isabelle worth watching?

Nick Robinson and Zoey Deutch in Voicemails for Isabelle/Netflix

Voicemails for Isabelle isn’t going to hit the same for everyone as it did for me. For some, this will be nothing more than another mediocre Netflix offering. But if you open yourself up to the deeper message, what it’s saying at its heart, you just might come away pleasantly surprised at the emotions it allows you to tap into.

Voicemails for Isabelle releases on Netflix on Friday, June 19.

Voicemails for Isabelle Review – Zoey Deutch Shines in Surprisingly Emotional Romantic Comedy