There's something special about "Juliet, Naked," based on a novel by Nick Hornby and starring Rose Byrne and Nathan Hawk. Tucker Crowe (Hawk) is a singer-songwriter who made a few records and then walked away from an emerging career. Now, 25 years later, few remember him and almost nobody knows where he is, but he's the obsession of a small coterie of rabid fans. The most fanatical is Duncan (Chris O'Dowd), who, in between teaching what looks to be a fairly worthless college course about television, he spends his life collecting Tucker Crowe memorabilia and arguing with other Crowe obsessives on Skype. Annie (Byrne) lives with Duncan in a small English city and is beginning to realize she made a wrong turn somewhere. She's almost 40, wishes she had kids and has come to see Duncan for what he is - an antisocial snob. But she hangs on, miserable, but not seeing an alternative path. Then, one day, unable to take it anymore, she posts a negative comment to Duncan's review of an obscure Tucker Crowe album. The next day, she gets an email all the way from the United States: it's Crowe himself, telling her how much he agrees with her. He doesn't have much use for his albums either. And a long-distance friendship begins.
"Juliet, Naked" is a lot like other romantic comedies, but it's much better in that each scene is full of wit and emotion and the dialogue more meaningful. Hawke brings to Tucker the weight of unspoken regret and the wisdom that comes from a complicated past. And Rose Byrne demonstrates an impressive comic facility and unerring truthfulness that develops her Annie into a sympathetic character. Director Jesse Peretz brings a light touch and a genuine understanding for the human comedy. "Juliet, Naked" is certainly worth seeing. You won't be disappointed.
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