A romantic comedy set in sun soaked Italy, featuring some of the stereotypes of the genre and some great actors, with the story of Romeo and Juliet as the backdrop. Sounds cheesy, almost too cheesy, but that’s ‘Letter’s to Juliet’ in a nutshell. Sunny cheesy romantic escapism. You don’t have to think too hard with this one, but, to be honest, if you did think too much you would realise just how predictable it is. That being said, if you are anything like me and actually quite enjoy easy watching romance, you’ll probably like this one.

‘Letters to Juliet’ tells the story of aspiring writer Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who whilst on holiday in Verona with her fiancee (who pays more attention to food rather than her) finds the ‘Secretaries to Juliet’, a group of women who answer all of the letters written to the fictional Juliet. Whilst helping the women, Sophie discovers a letter that had been hidden away for 50 years and decides to answer it. When the writer of the letter Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) turns up with her pessimistic grumpy grandson Charlie (Christopher Egan), Sophie is drawn into an adventure to find Claire’s long lost love Lorenzo.

Yes, I know it sounds cheesy, and I am not denying the fact that it is cheesy, but still. This film is escapism in its truest form, you are drawn into the sun soaked scenery of Tuscany and the romantic idea that true love never dies, and somehow you can’t help but go along with it all. At it’s centre, this is a road trip movie, with Sophie joining Claire and Charlie as they search a large chunk of Italy for the man Claire left behind all those years ago. I did say that this movie draws on some classic stereotypes and the characters are perfect examples of this. Claire is a hopeless romantic, and Sophie is easily drawn into believing that love is forever as long as you find the right person, all whilst Charlie believes that love is nothing but hormones and is a firm believer that there is no such thing as a happy ending.

Following on from her success as Sophie in Mamma Mia! (2008), for a little while it could be said that Seyfried was rather typecast as the cute lovable bride to be who always had a few tricks up her sleeve. In the case of ‘Letter’s to Juliet’ the character name is even the same. What is there to say other than she plays this sort of character well, making you both love and feel for her character. Vanessa Redgrave is equally as lovable as Claire Smith, eager to find her long lost love before it is too late. There is a brilliant level of determination and cheekiness to this character, she knows what she wants for herself and for her grandson. Christopher Egan makes a generally unlikable character somehow likable with Charlie, who perhaps goes through the biggest change in terms of character develop as the plot line moves on.

‘Letters of Juliet’ may have a ridiculously cheesy story line, be very predictable and not require much thought, but it’s still highly enjoyable if you love a good romantic comedy. It allows you to escape the dreary English weather to the sun of Italy for a little while and be swept away in the romance of it all. So enjoy the scenery, enjoy the romance and enjoy the cheese.