Age-gap romances gets a banal new addition

For every “Babygirl” (sexy, smart) and “The Idea of ​​You” (sexy, funny), there is an “A Family Affair” (not sexy, not smart, not funny). At least that's how it feels in the year of our Lord 2024, which is positively (well, mostly) characterized by age-gap romances. And they aren't slowing down yet! This week: Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth (secure) jump into the fray with Susannah Grant’s “Lonely Planet.”

While Grant's film nails certain elements necessary to the genre (such as casting two likable, capable stars who generate real heat), the film also tends to fall into just as many bad habits and flabby tropes that are synonymous with cinematic romance. Setting the film in a lush locale helps a little – “Lonely Planet” is set primarily in Morocco – but the travel-focused feature's overly glossy appearance tends to push it into uncomfortable, anonymous locales. The film could have been set anywhere and felt the same, and that's bad for a film that depends so much on the seductive power of travel.

It doesn't necessarily start there either. Bestselling author Katherine (Dern) is seduced less by the idea of ​​travel and more by the idea of ​​escaping her everyday life. She's newly homeless (her lack of luggage is another plus) and desperate to finish her latest book. That's why she left America for a writing vacation in Morocco that is so generous and accommodating that you almost have to wonder what the catch is (see above). There isn't much else in Grant's script. Despite the stunning setting and wide range of fellow writers (there's a Nordic crime writer, a French novelist, a sassy old grand dame, and more), Katherine is not a team player and has absolutely no interest in cocktails. Excursions or conversations by the pool. she must write.

Unfortunately, she's not the only person at the retreat who feels like an outsider: There's also Owen (Hemsworth), a private equity guy who accompanied his long-time girlfriend Lily (Diana Silvers) to the retreat, where the newly minted husband lives “Girl of Beach” hopes to begin a second novel. Many of Grant's supporting characters are given very little mercy on the page (much less on the screen), and Silvers captures the worst of it. Her Lily initially seems sweet, sweet and nervous – enough to make viewers who know what's coming with Katherine and Owen wonder how exactly we're supposed to get rid of her – before Grant turns her into an angry bitch because the Conspiracy it requires It.

We're meant to understand that Owen feels a little left out because he's not a writer, and while the rest of the group is happy to chatter about their work, their questions are extremely banal and usually relate to when someone wrote their book or how long it took them. Maybe Owen feels left out because these people are so boring. Even a degrading game of literature-based charades doesn't help any of them be considered super-intelligent (one of the answers is “The Kama Sutra,” dammit) and only serves to make us even more rooting for Owen, who's on the loose at the end of the whole thing Time.

That might sound like cheesy table setting, and it is, because while Lonely Planet clocks in at just 94 minutes, much of it is devoted to laying on various subplots, intrigues, confusions, tropes, etc. thick. Tricks and more. (We haven't even touched on Owen's problems with his job, Katherine's recently ended relationship, or the incredibly misplaced affair Lily is obviously going to have, but that's all.) We have to get through burst pipes, a broken engine, empty Microsoft Word pages, open-air market strolls, and a terribly awkward pot-laced dance party before we get to the real point (and best part!) of Lonely Planet: the romance between Katherine and Owen.

Absolutely none of this is worth it without a central love affair that packs a lot of warmth and emotion, and Dern and Hemsworth deliver on that promise, even if it takes far too long to get there. But even this element raises some questions. Oddly enough – and similar to its Netflix brethren “A Family Affair” – the age difference at the center of “Lonely Planet” isn't so much an actual topic of conversation as another element that merrily circles around the rest of the plot. The only indication that anyone has noticed That Katherine and Owen are from different generations is a mention by Katherine in the third act that temporarily turns things on their head, just like (Ack!) they are finally taking shape.

This delayed gratification allows “Lonely Planet” to soar while the excitement of Katherine and Owen’s finally consummated attraction still sparks and the expected plot moves pass quickly. But what would it have looked like without all the drawn-out conspiracies? Definitely sexier, definitely more fun. Also more intelligent.

Grade: C+

“Lonely Planet” begins streaming on Netflix on Friday, October 11th.

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