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!

Movie trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1nNWXhBWLw