Rosaline (2022)

  This is not a movie I would ordinarily have chosen.  Hulu didn't even try to recommend it to me.  It was a pick for this week's Movie Club.  And I enjoyed it, so take that, algorithm!

Rosaline Capulet (Kaitlyn Dever) has a forbidden love in Romeo Montague (Kyle Allen).  Because it's a secret, she must also fend off her father's (Bradley Whitford) attempts at matchmaking.  During one of these forced outings with a no-doubt-attractive-but-still-not-Romeo suitor (Sean Teale), Rosaline misses an assignation with Romeo at her family's masked ball.  Instead, he sees and falls for her cousin, Juliet (Isabela Merced).  Furious, Rosaline decides to sour the match, befriending Juliet in order to convince her to dump Romeo.  The problem in befriending, however, is that soon Rosaline feels guilty and also maybe not so sure she was actually in love with Romeo at all.  

This is like Shakespeare as written by Jane Austen.  It felt much more like an Emma/Pride & Prejudice mash-up than a Romeo & Juliet retelling.  Also, Kyle Allen looked way too much like Heath Ledger for me to stop making comparisons to 10 Things I Hate About You.

Am I just old?  Am I just destined to see all young actors as clones of actors from "my time" now?  Oh my God.

Anyway, it's a very cute movie, very fun watch with the Bridgerton-esque classical versions of pop songs and the anachronistic language to make it feel modern.  If you like rom-coms or revisionist tellings of well-worn plays, this is a decent investment of your time.