{"id":2961,"date":"2026-06-24T19:08:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T19:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2961"},"modified":"2026-06-24T19:08:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T19:08:21","slug":"review-voicemails-for-isabelle-is-fun-and-sexy-despite-its-ridiculous-premise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2961","title":{"rendered":"Review: &#8216;Voicemails for Isabelle&#8217; is fun and sexy, despite its ridiculous premise"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Rom-coms aren\u2019t always known for being terribly sexy but San Francisco native Leah McKendrick changes all than it her Netflix valentine to San Francisco. The story is constructed around a love connection made when candid voicemails sent by a grieving San Francisco prep cook wind up in the ear of the wrong person \u2014 a cute guy in Austin. McKendrick\u2019s film is at its best early on, as it catalogs the dating and sexual pratfalls of Jill (an incandescent Zoey Deutch) and real estate agent Wes (an adorable Nick Robinson) before the two physically meet.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2957\">Hiker\u2019s fatal plunge from iconic Angel\u2019s Landing is now called a murder<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span><iframe allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"youtube-player\" height=\"360\" loading=\"lazy\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9mi3YVYm3ZU?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en-US&amp;autohide=2&amp;wmode=transparent\" style=\"border:0;\" width=\"640\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As director\/writer\/actor McKendrick did so well with her directorial debut \u201cScrambled,\u201d her talent at illustrating how sex can be a laughing matter is a refreshing change of pace for the sometimes sex-less, buttoned-up rom-com genre. McKendrick is a strong writer, too, with a knack for creating messy characters we can\u2019t help but like. And it doesn\u2019t hurt that Deutch and Robinson are such likable actors. The contrivance itself though \u2014 that Wes is listening in on intimate phone messages that a devastated Jill is leaving for her recently departed sister (Ciara Bravo \u2014 sometimes comes across as forced \u2014 especially near the end. But let\u2019s be real, most rom-coms suffer by overstraining their premise. But there\u2019s much to like here \u2014 from the two leads, the numerous Bay Area shots (the Golden Gate Bridge should get a supporting actor credit), Nick Offerman as a pretentious, cruel chef and Lukas Gage as a clueless cretin love interest\/coworker. The restaurant scenes, in particular, are \u201cWorking Girl\u201d rewarding, and the liberating message of letting go of grief while holding on to its emotional foundation make this a rom-com to savor.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2955\">East Bay woman turns things around, avoids jail in robbery spree targeting \u2018Asian females\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018VOICEMAILS FOR ISABELLE\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>3 stars out of 4<\/p>\n<p>Not rated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Starring:<\/strong> Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson, Harry Shum Jr., Lukas Gage, Nick Offerman<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Writer\/director:<\/strong> Leah McKendrick<\/p>\n<p><strong>Running time:<\/strong> 1 hour, 58 minutes<\/p>\n<p><strong>When and where:<\/strong> Now available on Netflix<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson have strong chemistry in San Francisco native Leah McKendrick&#8217;s new rom-com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review: &#8216;Voicemails for Isabelle&#8217; 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