Juliet, Naked (2018) Reviews

• My favorite of Sundance 2018

  carlzimmermann2018-02-14

  First, you must like romantic comedies or this will fall short. I like good ones and this earned it's place with Notting Hill. Nice plot twists, great acting and a wonderful soundtrack. This part was made for Chris O'Dowd and Rose Byrne was spectacular. Ethan Hawke played such a loser I almost had trouble understanding what any woman would see in him. However, upon mentioning that to the women nearest me in the theater - including my wife, I was immediately slapped down. They all forgave him. And, it's set in England. What more could you ask for?

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• Underrated romantic comedy, an utter joy

  PotassiumMan2018-08-20

  Rose Byrne and Chris O'Dowd are a long-time couple living in a seaside town in this winning film about music fandom and romantic rejuvenation. She's a museum curator in her local area. He's a classics professor who, in his spare time, devotes his life to discussing and extolling the music of a legendary rock star who disappeared from performing and from making albums two decades ago. O'Dowd's character has even created an online forum for the rock star's most rabid fans. The couple's relationship begins to take a turn when the rock star (Ethan Hawke, ever reliable in his charisma) attempts a career resurgence. A film about a faded rock star coming back out of the shadows is not a new theme, but here it feels so crisp. Hawke's performance is perfect, as are Byrne and O'Dowd, a seeming odd couple whose devotion is showing signs of strain. O'Dowd's character is quite funny when he keeps finding out new information about his idol. Although there are romantic comedies on the subject of music and midlife perspective, this one proves extra eloquent and engaging. It's not just a film about finding love. It's also about discovering the difference between a fan's rose-colored glasses and reality; a dinner scene captures this theme brilliantly. Even if the rest of the film hadn't been any good (which is not the case), I still would have recommended this film on the strength of that scene alone. This film has gotten only lukewarm reviews so far, which is odd. I am hopeful that audiences and other critics will give it the recognition it deserves. Gladly recommended.

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• One can never know everything about someone

  jsharma2018-08-26

  Juliet, Naked Based on Nick Hornby's novel and directed by Jesse Peretz is awesome. Nick Hornby's novels are very interesting and are always a treat to watch on the big screen ( An Education, Wild, Brooklyn). Rose Byrne as Annie, is very realistic as a very down-to-earth grown up in a grown up relationship with her boyfriend Duncan ( excellent acting by Chris O'Dowd). Duncan is obsessed with music and life of Tucker Crowe for more than 2 decades . Ethan Hawke is terrific as Tucker Crowe, a musician , who vanished from public eye for decades. But Duncan thinks he knows everything about Tucker. Annie is not quite as obsessed and Duncan does not like that Annie does not get his passion and he seeks love elsewhere. Annie and Tucker are now website friends. Screenplay is great. The hospital scenes with Tucker on bed after angioplasty surrounded by kids with different women and Annie in the room are hilarious. The scenes on the beach when Duncan sees Tucker face to face and has no clue why Annie was seeing an older man are done extremely well. I enjoyed the movie a lot. Great acting. Ethan Hawke has done some great roles and is great as Tucker Crowe. excellent editing.

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• What a funny, sweet and delightful movie!

  gieslersue2018-08-17

  Everyone was laughing in the movie theater. The jokes are subtle, clever, original. Convincing acting, real characters, none of that fake, plastic Hollywood thing. I'll even watch it again!

• Clever and Funny

  BNester2018-07-29

  Duncan is a lecturer in a 3rd-rate college in a forgotten English sea-side town. He also runs the fan-club of a once-popular American singer-songwriter called Tucker Crowe, who disappeared 20-years ago after releasing an album called "Juliet". One day a cd arrives of early versions and outtakes of the songs on "Juliet", called "Juliet, Naked". Duncan's long-suffering girlfriend, Annie, writes a critical review of the disc on Duncan's blog, eliciting a talkback from Tucker Crowe himself. Their email relationship will grow into something more serious. Based on Nick Hornby's amusing book of the same name, the film is deliciously funny and full of clever twists. It pokes gentle fun at all the characters, who seem a little ridiculous but still ring true. The acting is superb, especially Rose Byrne, who plays Annie: middle-class, nearing middle-age, childless, attractive in a pinched, worried way, trying to do the right thing instead of letting herself go. You'll be grinning all through this delight, as Crowe tries to live down his past while Annie tries to break away from hers. Incidentally, Ethan Hawke, who plays Crowe, (yes, a Hawke pretending to be a Crowe: talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing!) also sings the vocals in what are supposed to be Crowe's songs, which play in the background.

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