Delayed Reaction: Rosaline

Premise: It turns out before Juliet, there was her cousin Rosaline dating Romeo, and she won't let him go without a fight.

Like most people, when I first heard about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, my first thought was "why can't it be a teen RomCom instead?" Because that's what Rosaline is. It's the Romeo and Juliet story we all know from an outsider's perspective. I'm a fan on this kind of story. I like the challenge of finding something new within the bounds of something that already exists. It's an impossible challenge, but when it works, it's so satisfying. Just look at Better Call Saul.

 

Really though, Rosaline works because it has a good enough lead to make it work. Kaitlyn Dever is the 'it girl' of the moment and I'm all for it. She's been working forever despite only being in her mid-20s. She's good in everything. She can work in any genre. So of course she'll work well in anachronistic Shakespeare. It helps that they got Isabel Merced as Juliet. She's putting together quite the filmography too at a young age. The male love interests, Sean Teale and Kyle Allen, are less remarkable, but perfectly fine. They surround the core characters with over-credentialled older actors. I especially liked Minnie Driver as the nurse. I'm sure she had a written character and all that, but it really feels like she just showed up on set and they told her to do the role however she wanted.

 

There is nothing groundbreaking about this movie. It won't heal any Shakespeare burnout you may be facing. But, as a light 90 minutes of clever enough jokes and low stakes, it's a pleasant watch.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend