Rosaline is what you get when you borrow the concept of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and move it from the dour tragedy of Hamlet to the bird-brained hyper-romantic Romeo & Juliet. Out with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s erudite philosophizing when not on stage and in with poor Rosaline throwing teenage tantrums instead. Which, hey, fits Romeo & Juliet just fine.

Rosaline was the girl Romeo originally had a moon-eyed crush on in Romeo & Juliet. She was only ever mentioned and never appeared on stage… but here she’s shown to be the jilted girlfriend of dopey Romeo after he sets eyes on that annoying Juliet.

I think it’s a clever idea for a behind-the-curtains/lower decks take on this particular play. She can wander about the periphery of the play, often just being in her own story. It plays like a modern teen romcom dropped willy-nilly into fair Verona of the past. Historically accurate? Rosaline rolls her eyes at you!

I love that it has the gall to give a cheeky HONK to the daft finale of the play. Rosaline’s response to Juliet’s cockamamie scheme made my 7th grade English self chuckle.

Kaitlyn Dever plays Rosaline and she’s pretty amazing. Largely fed up with these Romeos and Juliets, she gives a wonderful put-upon performance. Her eye-rolling snark is perfect for the overwrought romantic moon-eyes of the play. She’s clearly the best part of the flick.

This isn’t an amazing behind-the-curtain adaptation but it gets the job done as a fuzzy little teen rom-com that might – oops – accidentally get people interested in the play. It’s not Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, but it’s an amusing alternative that splashes in the same pool.

Score: 81