Is Voicemails For Isabelle Worth Watching? Our Honest Review Of The Emotional Rom-Com

Zoey Deutch is the queen of the rom-com, so when we heard the Set It Up star was in Netflix’s Voicemails for Isabelle, we were already on board. It follows Jill (Deutch), who leaves voicemails for her dead sister Isabelle (Ciara Bravo), without realizing her number has been transferred to Wes (Nick Robinson). After Wes becomes enamored with Jill, he stages a meet-cute with her by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It has hints of You’ve Got Mail, wrapped in a modern rom-com take that includes a deep look at grief. Deutch and Bravo truly shine as a pair of sisters who are also best friends, and are terrified of the moment they’ll be separated. When that day finally comes, it’s absolutely heartbreaking.

But with Nick Offerman adding comic relief as a psychotic chef and Lukas Gage as the worst guy you’ve ever met, this film darts between lighthearted moments and the darkest times. And isn’t that what life is really like?

Below, entertainment writers Lauren McNamara and Rachel Choy break down Voicemails for Isabelle, including how it handled grief, why the characters felt relatable, and whether a relationship can be successful when built on deceit. Spoilers ahead.

Rachel Choy: What did you think of Voicemails for Isabelle? It had me sobbing.

Lauren McNamara: I loved it. I think they nailed the way they addressed the grief storyline. I can’t imagine how difficult it would have been losing a sister who is not just a sister, but a best friend. The way they set that up at the start, with the pair growing up together, showed how close they were.

RC: I think that was really important. Sometimes in films they try to establish relationships and do it quickly with a montage. But there were lots of elements in that opening section where you really began to get invested in their relationship and sisterly bond. That foundation was key to the whole film working.

LM: There was about 20 minutes of that before getting into the present day. Some may think it dragged on, but it needed to have that depth to it in order to properly establish that relationship and show exactly why Jill is grieving as much, or in the way she is.

RC: We obviously knew from the trailer that the whole movie hinges on the fact that Jill’s sister Isabelle dies, and she leaves voicemails for it, but I still wasn’t prepared. When Izzy dies, the way Zoey Deutch played it, how she couldn’t accept the news, I was sobbing on the couch. I was almost wailing. It was so sad that she wasn’t able to get home before her sister passed. That resonates with so many people, because it’s like: what if you’d hopped on the plane? What if you changed something? There’s always regrets and what-ifs.

LM: She absolutely nailed the character. I love Zoey in a rom-com, she’s so fantastic. Set It Up is one of my favorite modern rom-coms, and she plays quirky and outgoing so well. And then Nick Robinson, I love him. He was so great in Love, Simon and Maid. It’s really interesting to see him back in the rom-com space but as an adult.

RC: I also liked that his character of Wes wasn’t one-dimensional. In other films, he might have been played just as the annoying generic suit type, but Wes is actually a nerd, and a softie. Layers, like an onion!

LM: It makes the characters feel more like real people. Having him be a Magic The Gathering nerd and also experiencing grief with his own mum, was a really nice touch.

RC: There are some great side characters too. But Toby Sanderman’s character is the WORST. He has a dating podcast and he gives tips on women how to date. I was like, girl, run! These are all the signs.

LM: It was nice to get some comic relief from the heaviness of grief being the central topic of the film, but at the same time, does another man need a podcast?

RC: They absolutely do not. But yeah, it was interesting how the film captures so many elements of life. It shows you don’t suddenly heal from a big traumatic event, there’s always a journey ahead of you. It was surprisingly sad and emotional for something billed as a rom-com.

LM: That’s the thing about grief, right? It’s so linear. It’s not a one-and-done type of thing. I have people in my life who have passed away, and grieving them is something I continue to do, even if it has been years. Memories shoot up, things remind you of that person, like the chicken pot pie for Wes in Voicemails for Isabelle.

RC: I totally agree. It was really touching! Also, there were little mentions of You’ve Got Mail, they were self-aware.

LM: I did love how they referenced it a few times. Comparing him listening to the voicemails to You’ve Got Mail, they were poking fun of it. It’s almost a modern version.

RC: Nobody would do that nowadays with emails because they’re not as trusting, but voicemails makes more sense. I do kind of have the ick for him listening and then trying to meet her, though. I’m sorry, that’s weird.

LM: I do wish he said something sooner. I wish that when he was on the bench during their meet-cute, that’s when he would bring it up. For the rest of the movie, until it did happen, I was on edge, thinking of all the possible scenarios where it could happen. There was that feeling of anticipation, I suppose, which kind of distracted me a little bit.

RC: And then it also happens in the worst possible way. But I don’t know how she could forgive such a big thing when your relationship is based on deceit. Could that work?

LM: I would have liked to see more of an argument or more confrontation about how they move forward together. I suppose that the two weeks that they had together in San Francisco, yeah, it started on the deceit of him knowing exactly where she would be and knowing so much about her, but then they really developed a connection.

RC: They did bond over their shared grief, so maybe that is more important than the lies.

LM: That sort of outweighed it, yeah. I did like there were some pretty classic rom-com tropes. I suspect this will maybe get a little bit of backlash. There’ll be two schools of thought from people. People who are like, hell yeah, rom-coms are so back because of some of the tropes in this film, and then the other people who are just cynical about romance. We had him running in the rain, making a big grand gesture, the remeeting at the end. Even the take on the meet-cute. And the hopeless romantic in me is loving all of these, but I’m sure there will be some cynics who will hate it.

RC: Well, the cynics can watch the sequel, which will be about them fighting over the lies and deceit. As uncomfortable as I am about the way Jill and Wes got together, I still ate it up. I was still like, give me the romance! I need the happily ever after.

LM: Regardless of the deceit at the start and the way that they met, I do think that they meshed well together. I think their characters were so great. As a hopeless romantic, I can’t get enough of a serious person with a quite unserious person, and I feel like that sort of leaned into it a little bit. Wes is a corporate, serious real estate guy, and she’s this quirky, fun chef. I think the dynamic of that relationship trope worked really well in this movie.

RC: And their chemistry was good as well! I believed they loved each other. I hate when you’re like, you guys don’t even want to kiss. With Jill and Wes, I was like, okay, now kiss!

LM: Even just like the way that he would just look at her. His acting was amazing, because you can see so much in his eyes. During the two weeks that they spent in San Francisco together, the way that he looked at her, oh, it made my heart flutter; it was so sweet.

RC: I love when you get butterflies.

LM: And I really did! Rom-coms are so back. I’m probably gonna watch it again tonight.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Voicemails for Isabelle is streaming now on Netflix.

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