'Rosaline' Review: A Fun, Modern Twist on a Classic Tale

One of the most well known stories in the world, Romeo & Juliet has been retold thousands of times. However, none of them are quite like Rosaline, which stars Juliet’s (Isabella Merced) cousin, Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever), who just so happens to be Romeo’s (Kyle Allen) ex. The idea of modernizing a classic tale has been done to death, and often falls flat in every possible way. However, where other adaptations fail, Rosaline flourishes and creates something that is an extremely fun watch.

Rosaline does a fantastic job of blending the classic world of Romeo & Juliet with modern themes. The film makes countless jokes at the poetic dialogue of Shakespeare, however it also pays homage to it in clever ways. Hearing classic characters talk in modern phrases and dialogue can sometimes be jarring, but Rosaline handles it with great strides. The music and score is also fantastic and each song is clearly picked perfectly for the scene.

Kaitlyn Dever absolutely steals the show as Rosaline, with a hilarious, strong female character that is extremely compelling to watch. She has great comedic timing and absolutely soars in her role. Her chemistry with Sean Teale is top notch, and every scene that the characters have together are absolute highlights. Isabella Merced also does a great job as Juliet. She also has strong chemistry with Dever, and the scenes between the two are always great.

In addition to great performances, the film is genuinely very funny. It never overstays its welcome, and doesn’t linger on jokes for too long. It had me laugh out loud a few times, and no joke really felt too forced. The film’s runtime of around 90 minutes is also on the shorter side, making sure that it moves along at a quick pace, helping to keep the jokes fresh. In addition, the ending is also hilarious and it really wraps up nicely with a twist you might not expect, given the nature of the source material.

Overall, Rosaline is a very fun movie. It brings the story of Romeo & Juliet to a modern era showing the strength of the female characters within the tale. Katilyn Dever is an absolute powerhouse in the role and brings so much energy to the screen that you can’t help but smile. The film is hilarious and extremely enjoyable.

★★★★

Rosaline is streaming on Hulu, October 14th.