R | 1h 34m | Drama, Romance | 2024
Boy Meets Girl
For the most part, romantic movies tend to avoid tragedy, and instead follow the boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-wins-girl-back blueprint. Most of the time this occurs between leads that are about the same age, and, if not, the male is always older than the female—sometimes decades apart.This construct has mostly been accepted and well-received, rarely challenged, or second-guessed. A 50-, 60-, or 70-year-old man courting a woman in her 20s or 30s in a movie? Not problem. Why not? It’s the ultimate double standard. Pairing an older woman with a younger man on-screen is not only rare and eyebrow-raising but, in some instances, it is practically forbidden.
Sharing its title with a series of travel guidebooks, writer-director Susannah Grant’s new “Lonely Planet” does little to change the perception of the “older woman-younger man” theme for the better and, in some instances, makes it worse.
Exotic Marrakesh
The story is set in Marrakesh, Morocco at a posh resort hosting a writer’s workshop. My experience with this type of event is that they are usually attended by fledgling, upstart writers looking to pick the brains of others like them. The attendees here are all very successful writers, most of them are internationally known and financially flush.
Of the eight there, six of them are prickly egoists that aren’t particularly likeable. Lily (Diana Silvers) is the youngest of the group whose debut novel is a smash hit, yet success hasn’t gone to her head (yet).
For reasons never explained, Lily is the only writer to bring a “plus one” guest to the event. That would be her boyfriend, Owen (Liam Hemsworth), a buff and affable dude who works in finance and corporate buyouts.
Owen has nothing in common with these people; it’s something they remind him of frequently. The lone exception is Katherine (Laura Dern), a novelist who is easily the most successful one there. Not interested in socializing, Katherine just wants solitude so she can get past her current bout of writer’s block.
After a few only-in-the-movies “meet-cute” interchanges where they initially bicker, Katherine and Owen stop denying their mutual attraction for each other. This is the point where “Lonely Planet” devolves into typical dramatic romance territory where each scene becomes more predictable than the last.
Missed Opportunity
“Lonely Planet” isn’t a big miss, but more of a huge missed opportunity. The two leads, despite a 20-plus years age difference and radically different acting styles, have palpable chemistry. Setting the movie in Morocco was a great idea and is more than reminiscent in look and plot to “Under the Tuscan Sun” from 2003.Under the Tuscan Sun” starred Diane Lane who, like the Dern character here, is a novelist with writer’s block recovering from an unpleasant romantic breakup. She soaks up some foreign sun and eventually falls for a much younger man. It was rated PG-13. “Lonely Planet” is rated R.
The R rating isn’t for nudity or violence, but rather language. The movie is littered with F-bombs, which, given that this is a romantic drama, come off as more than a little gratuitous and completely unnecessary. Had this been a bawdy romantic comedy along the lines of, say “Bridesmaids,” “Palm Springs,” or the “Bridget Jones” franchise, this would have been fine if not outright expected.
Make ‘em Laugh?
What’s even more frustrating is that with just a few minor tweaks, this could have easily been made as a comedy. The love-triangle main plot and the collection of colorful supporting characters would make this eminently viable.Grant seems to be tone deaf here, not realizing (or caring) that the great majority of romantic drama fans are over-30 females, most of whom blanch at excessive profanity.
To Grant’s credit, she ends the movie in quite an unexpected and welcomed manner. It was the only facet of the film that wasn’t thoroughly predictable, but it was too little too late.
