“The fair Rosaline whom thou so loves.” Before even a whisper of Juliet, Romeo had a thing for Rosaline, another fair maiden of the Capulet family. Early on, Juliet shows up and Romeo emotionally hits it and quits it with her, but that doesn’t stop scholars from wondering, what happened to R&R. Enter Kaitlyn Dever and Yes, God, Yes‘s Karen Maine, here to present what Shakespeare cut out of Romeo & Juliet, with mostly delightful results.
Dever’s Rosaline is the erudite member of the Capulets and Montagues, using her smarts to avoid marriage proposals and galivanting with 1500s England’s version of a gay bff Paris (Spencer Stevenson) and her nurse (Minnie Driver) in town to read books to learn and grow. She’s also got the lovesick Romeo (Kyle Allen) smitten over her, hunky and full of poetry very much in Rosaline’s wheelhouse. Just when things seem about perfect, Rosaline’s father Adrian (Bradley Whitford) blindsides her. First, he tells her she has to go on some dates with suitor Dario Penza (Sean Teale), which keeps Romeo away from the ball. You know, the ball that he will meet Juliet (Isabela Merced) at?
The comedy in Rosaline is a mixed bag. Much of the early humor is very nails on the chalkboard to me. I don’t know when people found it funny to have someone calling out in real time to someone doing something in a strange way, but I don’t need a character to constantly be explaining to me why Romeo’s grandiose claims of love are silly, stupid, and hilariously short sighted. At least this script by the Fault in Our Stars guys (Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber) has Romeo plow right though Rosaline’s concerns unabated. That gets us to the really funny stuff: watching Rosaline get more frazzled. Rosaline’s smarts get used against her as she struggles to keep up with her world’s insanity, making her more crazy and simply just another piece of Verona’s loopy society. When Rosaline’s “brilliant” plans go hilariously awry because she’s been sheltered outside of the world, the script takes off in strange and fun directions, taking off after a rocky start. Plus, the modern spins on old tropes (the town drunk is now a super high mailman) give Rosaline a new road into classic material.
A lot of Rosaline’s success is thanks to Kaitlyn Dever. Criminally relegated to a co-lead or a supporting player, Dever has a blast leading the movie, showcasing all of her skills. She sells the rom with the hunky Sean Teale, using the opposites attract thing super well. As for the com, the only reason the early scenes are watchable is because of Dever’s wonderful side eye of flexibility, capable of projecting any emotion the scene needs. She’s maybe at her best with Isabela Merced, wooing her into a web of Rosaline’s lies with delicious aplomb. And even when the movie ungracefully writes in some dramatic heft about women at this time, Dever does her damdest to make sure the message fits as best it can. I hope we get to see more roles for Kaitlyn Dever like this, cause she proves in Rosaline she’s up for it.
I am happy for Kaitlyn Dever, but I’m also delighted to see Isabela Merced show up in something different (moviewise, and costumewise, the clothes in general are fab). Those two are so fun together, I kind of want a sequel where Juliet and Rosaline star in the Capulet Adventures, taking trips across Italy and getting into romantic hijinks. Either that, or the spinoff with Bradley Whitford and Christopher McDonald in a comedic power struggle for the Capulet family, entitled Verona’s Viceroys. I’ll workshop the title.