If you only watch one romcom this month, make it Netflix’s Voicemails For Isabelle
By Abby Allen
June 23, 2026
If you have a romcom-shaped hole in your viewing schedule and loved 90s favourites like You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless In Seattle, let us introduce you to your new favourite.
I knew I was going to love Voicemails For Isabelle from the moment it opened with Robyn’s Dancing On My Own. We keep hearing that the era of the classic romcom is dead, and despite the efforts of production companies and streamers, the latest releases still don’t seem to scratch the surface when compared to old-school favourites like Notting Hill, When Harry Met Sally and 10 Things I Hate About You. But from the opening song of Netflix’s latest offering, I was confident it would be a worthy contender in the genre.
Starring Zoey Deutch (Set It Up) and Nick Robinson (Maid), the film cherry-picks elements of You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless In Seattle as it centres on Jill, a young woman who copes with her sister’s death by leaving her voicemails chronicling her chaotic life in San Francisco. When the number is unknowingly reassigned, an elusive Austin real estate agent begins receiving the hilariously confessional messages.
After listening to Jill’s deeply personal stories – one of which details her date with a dating podcaster who later ghosts her – Wes decides to use the information to take a trip to San Francisco and meet her in person.
Voicemails For Isabelle has all the ingredients of a great romcom – a perfect soundtrack, genuine chemistry between the two leads and just about enough cheesiness so it doesn’t verge into cringe. Oh, and the perfect amount of references to things like The Notebook (“If you’re a bird, I’m a bird”), When Harry Met Sally (“I feel like Meg Ryan”) and Taylor Swift. And while the movie delves into the budding romance between Jill and Wes, it also focuses on the love between Jill and her sister, Isabelle (Ciara Bravo).
Joining Deutch and Robinson is Nick Offerman (The Last Of Us), who plays Jill’s hilariously awful culinary boss, while Lukas Gage (People We Meet On Vacation) and Harry Shum Jr. (Everything Everywhere All At Once) also star. If you’re after an easy watch that’s equal parts lighthearted and emotional, this is well worth your time – and perhaps the modern antidote to those 90s classics you’re searching for.
Voicemails For Isabelle is available to watch on Netflix now.