Back in the 80s, the success of the 1984 film ‘Romancing the Stone’ with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, started a fun genre known as the adventure/romance genre. It was an enjoyable movie that had all the genre conventions of both kinds of movies and appealed to women. It had the thrills and spills of the action genre, a heavy dose of comedy, and a love story grounding the film at the center. That film is also about a romance novelist, who ends up on an adventure much like her own books, and meets a dashing smuggler, who helps her through her quest. I actually saw the movie and its sequel and it was a lot of fun.
‘The Lost City’ takes a generous amount of story elements from the 1984 film but ramps up the comedy for an enjoyable revisit to this classic genre that I didn’t realize was sorely missed. The film exchanges the original film’s dashing bird smuggler for the romance novelist’s cover model and hilarity ensues. While the premise of ‘Romancing the Stone’ is steeped in real danger and real issues (her sister is kidnapped, people are killed), ‘The Lost City’ leans on the hyper-real and is unafraid to be goofy and wacky.
The genre covers a lot of bases – romance, action, and comedy – which makes it perfect for a date or for watching movies with your close friends. It’s the kind of light, feel-good and enjoyable time in the theater that has been lacking in recent years with either films loaded with special effects or award-bait movies that can leave you in a spiral of heavy thoughts.
While the first five or eight minutes of ‘The Lost City’ have some tired and expected jokes – involving Channing Tatum’s cover model being not very bright and Sandra Bullock’s reclusive, grieving author being forced out of her comfort zones to promote her latest book – the film really starts to take flight when Bullock’s Loretta Sage is kidnapped by billionaire Abigail Fairfax (played by Daniel Radcliffe) as her background in archeology and ancient languages may help find the missing resting place of a priestess and her treasure. The same priestess who is written about in Loretta Sage’s books.
Witnessing the kidnapping, Alan, the cover model, insists on trying to save her because he wants her to see him as more than just a pretty face.
‘The Lost City’ is unafraid to be over the top and unrealistic. As seen in the trailer, Fairfax takes her on an airplane landing on the top floor of a building, a fantastic scene that feels a little too much so quickly. But this is the charm of the film. It doesn’t take itself so seriously so you can really just sit back and relax and just have fun with all the hilarious gags.
Because this is exactly in Bullock and Tatum’s wheelhouse. They get to do physical comedy (both have impeccable timing), Bullock gets to show off her wit and eloquence while Tatum gets to make fun of himself but still find the beating heart and warmth of his character that makes him so endearing. There’s also a healthy dose of Tatum showing off his amazing body so that’s always a plus.
Radcliffe is having a ball playing the billionaire with manners who gets more and more unhinged as the film unfolds. It’s the steady build up from elegant and posh to diabolically evil. It’s just so much fun. And the Brad Pitt cameo is as funny in the movie as it is in the trailer.
In a cinematic landscape that is heavily populated by big event movies, comic book fare, or serious, heavy dramas that are gunning for awards, it’s so refreshing to have a film that is just all about having a good time. It hints at some criticism against corporate takeovers of smaller countries – Abigail Fairfax buys half an island in search of the actual lost city of D – and the sort of destruction they do to the natural surroundings but it never hits too hard or makes any real statement against it.
It’s not that kind of film. And after the 112-minute running time of the film, I realized that that was okay too. ‘The Lost City’ is not going to change my life or the way I see the world but for almost two hours, I got lost in the laughs and the fun chemistry between Bullock and Tatum. I forgot that movies can be like this in the cinema too. It’s not just for streaming and I’m glad that it’s doing well at the box office. It’s nice to just have fun again in the theater.
My Rating:
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‘The Lost City‘ is now in cinemas nationwide. Find a cinema near you and book your tickets here.
