One has to keep in mind that Leah McKendrick’s film is a romantic comedy, meaning, according to even the most refined and reinvented versions of the genre’s formula, a sticking point born from preventable mistakes or an unwashed Big Lie likely exists. In the case of Voicemails from Isabelle, the finagling of fate belongs to Wes. Like many rom-coms, a horses-holding “Let me explain” is needed.
Read MoreAs it has been outlined on this website before on films like Get On Up, biographical films have their formulas and rules. In addressing the origins and rise to fame of reclusive author J.D. Salinger, Rebel in the Rye faces the familiar dramatization tightrope walk between sugarcoated hero worship and biting character study. The creative choices made by Danny Strong, in his debut directorial effort, swirl between an engaging warm hug and an indifferent cold shoulder.
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