A breezy, emotionally manipulative rom-com with a high-concept hook that pays off in chemistry, jokes, and genuine feeling. It sounds especially appealing if you like modern, slightly messy love stories that balance grief with flirtation and a very online sense of humor.
Voicemails for Isabelle
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Romance · Comedy
Sat · 1h 59m
Director: Leah McKendrick
Starring: Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson, Ciara Bravo
Overview
A young woman's hilariously confessional voicemails to her late sister are unknowingly redirected to a stranger, who begins to fall in love from afar.
Director
Leah McKendrick
Cast
Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson, Ciara Bravo
Curator Review
Verdict
A breezy, emotionally manipulative rom-com with a high-concept hook that pays off in chemistry, jokes, and genuine feeling. It sounds especially appealing if you like modern, slightly messy love stories that balance grief with flirtation and a very online sense of humor.
Best for
rom-com fans
viewers who like high-concept meet-cutes
fans of Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson
people who enjoy grief-tinged comedy
audiences looking for a feel-good cry-laugh movie
Skip if
you want a strictly realistic romance
you dislike sentimental plotting
you prefer low-key indie naturalism
you are tired of voicemail/texting/identity-mixup rom-com setups
Overview
Voicemails for Isabelle takes a very old romantic-comedy engine and gives it a contemporary, emotionally scrambled spin. The premise is built for misunderstandings, but the film seems to know exactly how silly the setup is, leaning into the comedy while still treating loss with enough sincerity to land the sentimental beats.
Worth noting
The response suggests strong chemistry is the main attraction, with the leads carrying the movie through both the flirtation and the grief. That combination of deadpan, yearning, and pop-culture-coded charm makes it feel like a polished studio rom-com with a Gen Z pulse rather than a throwback imitation.
Bottom line
It may not be for viewers who want subtlety or airtight realism, but as a crowd-pleasing romance with a bittersweet edge, it sounds like it knows its lane and works it well. If the hook sounds even mildly appealing, this is the kind of movie that can win you over by the end.
Top Letterboxd reviews
jenL♡ (3.5★) · 16188 likes
i just know it was a gen z editor who snuck in that random daddy’s home moment
kiara (4★) · 13287 likes
chemistry ate so bad that i didn’t even care that benson boone was playing in the bg as he ran to her
trinity ★ (3.5★) · 9989 likes
nick robinson starring in rom-coms again is all i’ve ever wanted … maybe life is worth living after all
Zoe (3.5★) · 7959 likes
damn the body wasn't even cold yet and they already reassigned her number 😭
nikki (3.5★) · 6312 likes
i need nick robinson in more movies and… in my bed
Themes
grief and healing, mistaken identity, romantic misunderstanding, modern dating, sisterhood, longing, second chances, emotional comedy