by Cain Noble-Davies
Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Intro:
… uncomplicated, almost blissfully, and appeals to uncomplicated emotions and desires, but made from a genuine want to entertain.
Originality is overrated. Sure, it’s appreciated when filmmakers try and push themselves and the artform into new and more complex territory, but not every film needs to be an earth-shattering epic with at least a dozen different statements on the human condition. Well-made, if simple, comfort food can hit the spot better than a Michelin-star meal full of exotic and overpriced ingredients; it’s all about who’s putting the menu together. And this film, a tribute to cheesy romantic adventure novels, is the right kind of simple cinematic dish made with heart.
Every actor here, from the leads to the supporting roles, plays the material with just the right balance of knowing cheek and whole-hearted earnestness to make the story work. Sandra Bullock as the initially-isolated novelist Loretta brings remarkable subtlety to her performance, in effect delivering some of her best work since Gravity. By sharp contrast, Channing Tatum as Alan Caprison, the resident Fabio stand-in, is high-pitch goofy, every bit as sweet and knowingly artificial as the drink that shares his last name. He gets the biggest laughs, the best physical moments, and even the best bit of dialogue in the entire film (whichever of the four writers is responsible for that feminism line deserves a medal).
Speaking of the writing, it makes for a highly refreshing change from the norm when it comes to American comedy on-film, in that it doesn’t waste a moment of time. It sets up its treasure-hunting kidnap plot right away (with an excellently cast Daniel Radcliffe as the obsessed billionaire), and no one scene outstays its welcome. It doesn’t run around in line-o-rama circles just to fill up space like far too many other comedies, instead focusing on what the audience would want to see if they decide to check it out: Bullock and Tatum being cute together as they go on a jungle adventure. Well, that and Brad Pitt.
While aspects of the dialogue and story give some loving rib-nudges to the aesthetic of these kinds of escapist romantic fantasies, it’s never done with malice or even that much subversion. Much like with writer Dana Fox’s previous work with Isn’t It Romantic, it acknowledges how silly a lot of the inherent tropes are, but also shows an understanding of why these worlds appeal to audiences. It’s uncomplicated, almost blissfully, and appeals to uncomplicated emotions and desires, but made from a genuine want to entertain. Even if it’s from butt leeches.
The Lost City is a breezy, to-the-point rom-com adventure that doesn’t try to do any more than it really needs to in order to entertain. It deserves props for its ‘don’t bore us, put away the thesaurus’ approach to a genre that’s prone to waffling on, and it helps highlight that there’s nothing wrong with being straightforward and earnest and… well, silly.
