Juliet, Naked

Yes, it’s a formula and we’ve been here before. But the characters are engaging, the performances elevate the material, and the various dilemmas of each gives this more layers than you might expect.

Byrne and Hawke, both easygoing, naturalistic performers at their best when they barely seem to be acting, have an utterly persuasive connection.

As rom-coms go, it’s pretty much everything you want, even if it’s not quite distinctive enough to linger.

Described as a “98-minute diversion” by producers at a recent screening, the romantic comedy is just that: a sweet-tart confection that, like lemon sorbet, cleanses a palate gone sour from too many cinematic servings of the heavy stuff.

In addition to being the rare modern romantic comedy that manages to nail both the "romantic" and the "comedy" with equal aplomb, Juliet, Naked is also a wonderful, welcome late-summer fling, the kind that can be enjoyed with no regrets and no apologies before harsh reality resumes once more.

The film is loaded with inconsequential detours and questionable and inconsistent character psychology as it stumbles awkwardly to its foregone conclusion.

It’s unfortunate that Byrne’s offering such a tremendous performance in a film that is, to put it as bluntly as possible, so very dumb.

Super smart, funny, and humane comedy for adults. All three leads are terrific (Byrne has never been better, and Hawke may be the best actor working today), and the supporting cast is equally good. The movie is the opposite of a comedy that scores cheap laughs at the expense of the characters. Even Chris O'Dowd's character's foolishness is recognizably human. Loved it.

Ethan Hawke is versatile, you have to give him credit for it. And the guy is really good to make you believe most of his characters, even when he goes from heavy dramas like in the recent ''First Reformed'' to films as simple as ''The Magnificent Seven'' and ''24 Hours to Live'' to mention some of his recent ones. Juliet, Naked enters in that category of simple films. Is the adaptation of the novel of the same name of the writer Nick Hornby that if you do not know it's also author of the novels: High Fidelity and About a Boy. This film is a plague of conventions of the genre so I must emphasize that there are no surprises or a great story in between but its cast has enough quality to keep the film at a better level. I'm sorry but here the credit is from the actors not from the director or the writers. It will hardly leave a memorable impression but I think it's worthy of your time. I can even recommend it as a double feature with a film I saw yesterday: '' Hearts Beat Loud ''

Getting past the first 20-25 minutes of “Juliet, Naked” is difficult but leads to a pleasant rom-com without too much laugh out loud comedy or sighing romance. Throughout the movie you will see a very annoying performance by Chris O’Dowd, which is the way it is written and he acts it without a fault. Rose Byrne, playing his girlfriend of 15 years, is such a delight you wonder whatever made her stay with him. Does anyone think of Ethane Hawke as less than a very accomplished actor? You may not remember what roles he has played and/or what movies he has been in but, no matter, you probably always enjoyed him. Here is a father of multiple children by a variety of wives who walked out on fame and now 25 years later has decided to grow up, taking responsibility for his mistakes. He is living in the garage of one of his exes determined to be a father to his 6-year-old son. From the moment Rose meets Ethane in person after spending time exchanging emails the movie has a different, more humorous, more feeling to it. It could have been a more up to date version of Nora Ephron’s “You Got Mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan 20 years later but it is an English film which right away gives it a different beat. Written by Evegenia Peretz, Jim Taylor and Tamara Jenkins, while directed by Jesse Peretz, don’t expect to see a naked Juliet in “Juliet, Naked” but you will see the London Eye Ferris Wheel on the Thames instead of the Empire State building on 34th street and a rom-com smartly written, produced and directed with a lot of heart towards the end. Just make it through the setup!

“Juliet, Naked” stars Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne and Chris Dowd in a film directed by Jesse Perez and written by his sister, Evgenia, Tamara Jenkins and Jim Taylor. With 3 co-writers you would expect that the end product would be more than a simple film with a simple plot but, unfortunately, it is not. I was never too great a fan of Ms. Byrne, but she shows a side of her ability in the role she plays that makes her endearing and enjoyable to watch. Mr. Dowd and Mr. Hawke also add to the film but all of them cannot overcome the basic shallowness of the script and lack of the depth of the characters they portray. I give the film only a 6 notwithstanding the fine efforts of the actors in it.

Sorry but this movie is extremely annoying. First, what happened with the production values? Very poor lighting. Incredibly basic camerawork, set design, cinematography? Film is a visual medium folks. Take your favorite Nick Hornby movie and cut the entertainment value in half. Then do that 2 more times. Viola, you have this movie.