Rosaline

A new romantic comedy gives the Shakespearean character Rosaline, cousin to Juliet with a crush on Romeo, her own story.

And Dever and Teale are charming together: Rosaline bristles at the idea of being “bought” as a bride for any amount; Dario has to break it to her that the price for her hand in marriage is a single cow. She enlists the help of her gay bestie Paris (Spencer Stevenson), persuading him to proffer himself as a husband to Juliet. Naturally, Rosaline is none too pleased, and she begins scheming ways to pry Romeo away from her sweet—but not pushover-sweet—cousin Juliet (Isabela Merced). And so Dario, almost criminally handsome and intrigued by Rosaline but hardly desperate to own her, takes her for a ride on his boat. For Romeo, Rosaline is just a set of pre-Juliet training wheels; for Shakespeare, she was a useful device, a specter summoned briefly and then discarded. She’s a Capulet, a member of the Montagues’ enemy clan, which is why he sneaks into a party hosted by the Capulets in the hopes of catching her eye.

Kaitlyn Dever of "Booksmart" stars in "Rosaline" as Romeo's jilted ex in a clever comic retelling of Shakespeare's tragic romance.

“Rosaline” is a sunnier take on the same idea and while I won’t say that parting is such sweet sorrow, I was a little bummed when it was over. Weber and Scott Neustedter (“500 Days of Summer”) have a blast riffing on Shakespeare’s original storyline, and a passing familiarity with the events of the original play greatly enhance the comedy here. The screenplay is full of clever jokes, like how nobody believes the Nurse (Minnie Driver) is actually a trained medical professor. If you know the original “R & J,” you know what happens next. But another night on the balcony (climbing a balcony is Romeo’s signature move), a flustered Rosaline doesn't reciprocate when Romeo professes his love. No, this isn’t William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” The young woman isn’t even Juliet.

The result is a welcome starring showcase for Kaitlyn Dever more likely to prosper in the hamlet of Hulu than it would have fared in the province of theaters.

Beyond the shift to Rosaline’s perspective that might explain why the movie feels so contemporary, making shrewd use of lots of popular songs to set the mood and establish the cheeky tone, whether that’s “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” or “I Love It.” Plus, the pacing moves briskly in a way that happily doesn’t overstay its welcome. Weber (“500 Days of Summer”) took Rebecca Serle’s 2013 novel, which contemporized Rosaline’s tale, and put it back in Shakespearean times. When their get-together prevents her from attending a party, the feckless Romeo falls for the visiting Juliet (Isabela Merced). For those a little rusty on their Shakespeare, Romeo had actually been pining for Juliet’s cousin before they met and set in motion that whole star-crossed lovers thing. The result is a welcome starring showcase for Kaitlyn Dever more likely to prosper in the hamlet of Hulu than it would have fared in the province of theaters.

Rosaline, starring Kaitlyn Dever, is a mixed bag in its retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

But because the characterizations of Romeo and Juliet that Neustadter and Weber are writing don’t quite work, Rosaline naturally is at its best when it focuses on the title character and her potential new love interest in Dario. As it stands, Rosaline has the inklings of a great idea—one that we've seen work with Shakespeare's works before—and while there are moments of fun teases to the audience throughout, Rosaline is unfortunately wedded to calamity. Since Rosaline is understandably focused more on the antics of the title character, her attempts to win Romeo, and the film’s sly winks to the audience who is probably familiar with this beloved romance already, Rosaline is full of opportunities to throw in little jokes that don’t necessarily land. For much of the film’s second act, Rosaline is learning that Juliet is an impressive woman, and it makes complete sense how Romeo could fall for her. In addition to being based on Shakespeare’s original tale, Rosaline is also based on Rebecca Serle’s novel When You Were Mine, which updates Shakespeare’s story to the modern day—with the inclusion of Rosaline as a main character. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, the character of Rosaline is never seen, but her presence can be felt with the young lovelorn Romeo.

LOS ANGELES -- The tale of "Romeo and Juliet" is turned on its head in 20th Century Studios' "Rosaline." Rosaline, played by Kaitlyn Dever, is Romeo's ...

I had such a good time making this movie." "I was smiling the whole time making it. I had a blast bringing this character to life.

The actor shares his favorite photos from the set of the reimagined Romeo & Juliet, streaming now.

It’s a very special group of people, the script was fun, and the idea of shooting in Italy for the summer didn’t not appeal. We had wanted to be on camera together the whole movie, so we had a lot of fun that day.” It was such a nice place for us to film, and the cast and crew all enjoyed being by this beautiful lake.” The gardens were massive and so magical; in the movie it’s where Kaitlyn’s character and her father live, so we got to spend a lot of time there. “There’s obviously farce in Romeo and Juliet already,” Teale says, “but there’s a space in modern filmmaking to explore that and to find a happy medium between modern touches and a Medieval time period.” It’s like poking a hole in a piece of paper and letting the light come through.”

Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever plays an oft-forgotten Romeo & Juliet character in the fun but forgettable new Hulu comedy, Rosaline.

Like many of the films that seem to debut exclusively on streaming platforms these days, it’s a bit too visually bare and narratively uninventive to truly rise above its competition. (That’s especially true of an unexpected homage to The Graduate that Maine, Neustadter, and Weber throw out at exactly the right moment.) By rewriting its titular heroine not as an uninvolved spectator but as an active participant in Romeo and Juliet’s tragic love story, the film, which is based on a 2012 YA novel by Rebecca Serle, finds a number of ways to cleverly subvert certain iconic beats from Shakespeare’s original play. Anyone who’s ever caught themselves rolling their eyes at the film’s iconic pair of young lovers will, in particular, likely delight in the ways Rosaline both plays up and pokes holes at their short-lived love story. Rosaline later learns that her once-enamored admirer inadvertently met and fell in love with Juliet while attending a Capulet gathering (you know the one), which she missed while she was away on an obligatory date with a surprisingly charming and handsome war veteran named Dario (Sean Teale). Rosaline’s dream of running away with Romeo is dashed, however, when she realizes one night that he has left his relationship with her behind in favor of a new romance with her beautiful young cousin, Juliet (Isabela Merced).

LOS ANGELES -- The tale of "Romeo and Juliet" is turned on its head in 20th Century Studios' "Rosaline." Rosaline, played by Kaitlyn Dever, is Romeo's ...

I had such a good time making this movie." "I was smiling the whole time making it. I had a blast bringing this character to life.