"Rosaline"

I thought this would be really light and fluffy and silly.  It's not.  It is funny -- laugh-out-loud at times -- but it's also smart.  Really smart.  A rom-com with a brain.  It has an amazing cast (in addition to the engaging, attractive leads there are luminaries like Bradley Whitford and Minnie Driver in supporting roles).  With the actual Italy as a backdrop the characters move through complex emotions, layered into equally challenging situations.  It's "Romeo & Juliet" as a comedy.  Really.  And it works!  Lovers of Shakespeare and of classic films will enjoy a number of Easter Eggs, including homages to the Bard's other works and movies like "The Graduate".  I didn't know how they were going to take this well-known tragedy and turn it into something else.  But they did, and we have an entertaining film which has gentle lessons about mature love, as opposed to infatuation.  As someone who has always had "issues" with the original tale, I approve, heartily.  The contemporary language and musical score works seemlessly with traditional costumes and the occasional iambic pentameter.  It's kind of brilliant.  And fresh.  Brava.