Letters to Juliet

I've seen a lot of movies this year, and most of them have been disappointing. How to Train Your Dragon and (strangely) The A-Team being the exceptions. Of course when I saw The A-Team I was coming down off of a Geek Fest high and working on much less sleep than usual. That always helps any good action movie right along.

This movie was exactly what I expected it to be. Cute, romantic, funny and a bit dramatic, all located in the breathtaking scenery of Italy. The main character, Sophie, and her fiance are on an early honeymoon in Italy. He is about to open his own restaurant in New York and gets completely distracted with all of the food, cooking and wine “opportunities” in and near Verona. Sophie ends up sight seeing by herself and goes to Juliet's Balcony.

I've been to Juliet's Balcony. Granted, it was something like 20 years ago, and at the time I was painfully unaware of anything resembling romance. (I'm still painfully unaware of anything resembling romance, come to think of it.) Anyway, I was there, we took some pictures and left. That was it. If anyone left letters to Juliet (like in the movie) I missed it completely. I believe we were more worried about not getting stuck in the downpour that was starting. Bah, distracted again.

Sophie discovers a small group of women who take the letters from the wall and answer them. She finds a letter to Juliet that is 50 years old and feels drawn to answer it herself. The woman from the letter turns up (along with his handsome, jerk of a grandson) to find the man of her youthful dreams.

Everything that happens after that is by the book, but it was really cute and I was very satisfied with the show. I also had a pumpkin milkshake, so that could have been a factor in my satisfaction too.

I used to roll my eyes at all the women who wanted to visit Italy, but after this movie, I have to say that I'd go there. I wonder if I could find a handsome, wealthy man to take me . . . not likely!