NickOfferman – Credits Rolling

Jill (Zoey Deutch) and Isabelle (Ciara Bravo) are not only sisters – they are best friends. Inseparable, ride or die, they speak to each other every single day about everything and anything. But Isabelle is sick and when she passes away, Jill’s whole life is turned upside down. Currently competing for a coveted baker position in San Francisco, Jill throws herself into her work and swears off men. As a way of coping, Jill starts leaving voicemails for Isabelle. Unbeknownst to her, the phone number has been reassigned to real estate agent Wes (Nick Robinson) and he ends up listening to all her confessions.

There are films that you watch and then there are films that make you feel. Voicemails For Isabelle falls into the latter category. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect going into it and I’m glad that I didn’t because I was granted such a beautiful viewing experience. The storyline may not be entirely original, but that didn’t matter. Every other aspect worked.

Deutch just has this charisma about her. She’s magnetic to watch. With the heavier subject matter, I was able to see another side to her that I hadn’t before. Not only did she nail those emotional scenes, I felt like I was on this grief journey too. Each decision was so relatable and came across so naturally. It had been a hot minute since I’d seen Robinson in something. He fell right back into the romcom game effortlessly. The chemistry he shared with Deutch was sincere. I also thought the supporting cast were strong with the likes of Harry Shum Jr. and Leah McKendrick as Andy and Breeda, Wes’s best friends, as well as Toby Sandeman as swarmy podcast host Tyler, Nick Offerman as the diabolical Chef Bastien and Lukas Gage as Arthur, a classmate of Jill’s at the cooking school.

At the core of the movie, however, is the love story between Jill and Isabelle. Their bond was so incredibly special and this was captured right from the get go. I need to give a shoutout to the actresses who portrayed these two when they were younger, Alice Comer and Iris Everly, because they helped set the scene of what was to come. For once it was nice that the focus wasn’t just on a romantic type of love, but instead love in all forms. That unbreakable bond between sisters was beautifully depicted throughout and although I do not have a sister myself, it still impacted me deeply.

Voicemails For Isabelle is one of those films that wasn’t just entertaining. It had something to say and it said it loud and clear. Funny, devastating, not afraid to be vulnerable and deeply human, it was like a rollercoaster in the best possible way.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

When the world was staying home during the pandemic, people used this time to improve their health while others opted to spend more time with family. Then there were those who picked up a new hobby – much like Keith Gill aka Roaring Kitty (Paul Dano) did when he started buying stock in GameStop. What started innocently enough soon turned into a revolution with everyone around the nation following in this regular guy’s footsteps.

I’ll admit that I didn’t know much about this story. My husband followed it and couldn’t wait to see this version of what went down, but I went into it almost blindly. What an eye opening experience! While the financial jargon went over my head a few times, I have to say that I became totally invested and learned a lot.

Biographies can be hard to pull off because one never knows how much or how little include of someone’s life. But I thought the pacing here was done so well; the tone was set right from the get go and as soon as things got going, it didn’t let up for one second. While the events took place over a specific period of time, it still felt cohesive and sequential.

The cast was filled with some big names such as Seth Rogan, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley and America Ferrara, though the standouts for me were Pete Davidson and Paul Dano. The former completely stole every single scene he was in and had me in stitches. He was the typical dipshit brother and he worked it so well. And then of course was Paul Dano. This is his film. He embodied Kitty so perfectly and was the driving force throughout. I’m starting to realize there isn’t anything this guy can’t do.

I went into Dumb Money expecting one thing and walked out of the cinema having experienced something completely different. I mean that in the best way possible! It was such a wild, educational ride with exceptional performances from everyone. A definite home run for me.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️