Answer the phone. It’s Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson in exclusive first-look photos of Voicemails for Isabelle, a new rom-com coming to Netflix on June 19.
Voicemails for Isabelle centers on Jill (Deutch), an aspiring pastry chef, who copes with the death of her little sister Isabelle (Ciara Bravo) by continuing to leave her voicemails. But when Isabelle’s phone number gets reassigned to an enigmatic real estate agent, Wes (Robinson), things get a little complicated.
Wes hears Jill gripe about her exacting boss, Chef Bastien (Nick Offerman), relay dating horror stories, and lament her never-ending search for a breakfast taco in San Francisco, and he starts to fall for her, sight unseen. In our technology-addicted world, social media-driven world, watching a relationship grow through voicemails, cities apart, is refreshing and reminiscent of cozy rom-com classics like You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. “Voicemails cannot be edited or rewritten,” says writer-director Leah McKendrick. “They’re usually messy, awkward, inarticulate — sometimes confessional. Like a stream of consciousness, they always go a little off the rails.”
Voicemails for Isabelle is a rare blend of humor, romance, and some more tender moments, with Isabelle’s tragic death as the film’s bittersweet catalyst for love. The movie is just as silly as it is sweet, as Robinson and Deutch’s characters’ core romance is offset by some comedy legends and buzzy new actors like Offerman, Lukas Gage, Harry Shum Jr., Bravo, Megan Danso, Toby Sandeman, Spencer Lord, and Gil Bellows. Having this many funny people on set comes with its own risks, however: “If this were middle school,” says McKendrick, “Lukas and Zoey would have to be separated. They make each other laugh uncontrollably.”
And while Voicemails for Isabelle primarily charts Jill and Wes’s love story in the present, it’s just as much about the love between siblings and the enduring power of sisterhood. Jill and Isabelle have been best friends since they shared a bedroom as kids, sharing everything from first kiss mishaps to dessert recipes and, above all else, a love of Top Chef.
You’ll also find McKendrick (Scrambled) in the exciting new images above — both behind the camera and in front of it, sitting at a Mexican restaurant. McKendrick is excited for the sight-unseen trope to resonate with fans, saying, “I think we all want to believe that what makes us most special — most us — is that which cannot be seen. We all contain our own invisible, magic cocktail of heart and humor and whimsy and favorite movie quotes.”
Scroll through the first-look photos and stay tuned to Tudum for more updates on Voicemails for Isabelle before the film calls you up on June 19.
