Do not watch Netflix’s newest rom-com unless you want two very distinct things to happen to you: to cry your eyes out and to develop a sudden and intense crush on Nick Robinson.
**Spoiler alert for Voicemails For Isabelle, now streaming on Netflix**
Anyone who says that a rom-com has to have a sex scene in order to be truly excellent is just plain wrong. I can point to many a movie like 13 Going on 30 and 10 Things I Hate About You to prove that point but honestly, why look that far back when Voicemails For Isabelle is proof-positive. Sure, there is no scene that goes all the way but there is certainly enough to have your jaw on the floor and your heart pumping. In fact, I would argue that one of the hottest and most sincere moments in a rom-com comes in the second half of the movie as Jill (Zoey Deutch) and Wes have dinner at her apartment together. Indulge me.
After resisting the urge to kiss and generally fall for each other during his two-week trip to San Francisco, things finally come to a head after their giggle tour of the city when Wes does everything in his power to make Jill laugh after the tour guide abruptly quits. It results in Wes getting kicked off the bus, unfortunately, but finally gets both of them to break their no-kiss promise, promptly making out in front of a bus full of onlookers. Back at Jill’s apartment and eager to spend their final night together, the pair sit down for a home-cooked meal with the main entrée being a chicken pot pie with a cornbread crust… cue the waterworks. Earlier in his trip, Wes told Jill that his mother — who died when he was little — had a famous chicken pot pie dish that he never got the recipe for. So now you see why we’re crying?!
While Jill initially can’t tell how he feels about it because Wes goes fully silent, it’s as she turns back to the counter that he comes up from behind and grabs her waist. In that moment, he kisses her neck and slowly places his hands on her hips, turning her around towards him and starting to kiss her aggressively. It’s hot, of course, but only gets hotter as Wes slowly slides his hands down her body and onto her legs, slowly pressing into her and lifting her up easily to hoist her onto the counter.
The steamy make-out session continues, almost certainly heading towards pound town (sorry, it’s not the best way to put it but you see the vision at least), but quickly halts as Wes feels a rush of guilt over hooking up with someone he hasn’t been fully honest with. Honestly, it kind of makes it hotter in my opinion but maybe that’s just because as the viewers we know he’s a good guy who doesn’t want to take advantage of her without radical honesty. My goodness, that’s sexy.
Beyond that, the movie thrives by cashing in on Deutch and Robinson’s incredible chemistry, which is why they don’t need to go any further than that in order to deeply connect us to the story and this couple. How do you make a rom-com sexy as hell, even without a proper sex scene? This is how it’s done.
Voicemails for Isabelle is now streaming on Netflix.
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