“The Lost City” is a sign that the world is beginning to heal

I love rom-coms of all types. If it’s dumb and romantic, I eat it up. The problematic ones from the ‘80s, the slightly less but still problematic ones from the ‘90s, even the somewhat problematic ones from the early 2000s– they’re all delectable and unrealistic. Considering I am 17 and haven’t held hands romantically since I was 14 and skinny, this genre is one of the singular connections to romance that I intentionally maintain and intend to maintain. 

However, in recent years, people have let the magic of rom-coms dwindle into nothing but self-aware millennial dating-app existentialist remake cash grabs that almost always include leads that have little to no chemistry. A gal like me that lives vicariously through unlikable size 0-2 women from movies like 27 Dresses, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Miss Congeniality several times a week needs fresh content after the dry spell that was almost the entire 2010s, but no one seems to get that rom-coms can be both cash grabs and enjoyable.

That is, until The Lost City dropped on March 25, 2022.

So much about this movie felt so catered to me that I couldn’t care less if anyone else didn’t like this movie.

THE CAST

I am a diehard fan of Sandra Bullock in literally any rom-com ever, as she plays the “not like other girls” girl to perfection– whether that means a business lady, a fed, or an author in this movie, she’s a working woman that doesn’t play with her heart.

Channing Tatum has been a member of the Anna’s Heart-Throb Club ever since I laid eyes on him in She’s the Man as a himbo jock with an earnest heart and a questionable sexuality. It’s the role he plays best, and it’s the role he played in The Lost City.

If I could be stranded on an island with any celebrity, it would without a doubt be Daniel Radcliffe. Every role he’s in is magic because you know he wanted to be there, and he is so underratedly hilarious. Plus, if I had a nickel for every time that Daniel Radcliffe played an eccentric millionaire that kidnapped a specialist in a niche field that suited his own particular ambitious goal, I’d have two nickels. And I’d keep those nickels forever (he was a rockstar in the second Now You See Me). He’s such a great weirdo villain. I just love the guy.

I have been going through a massive Ocean’s Trilogy phase, and with that has come an unavoidable obsession with America’s mothers’ favorites, George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Before those movies, I knew Brad Pitt from Megamind, Happy Feet 2, and Troy. I had a relatively neutral stance on him, maybe a little overrated. Not anymore. I am truly aware of the fact that he is likely an insufferable person, but right now, I can’t be deterred.

The aforementioned cast had such strangely fantastic chemistry, and I was riveted by every moment that any of them were on screen. Having a random dance scene in the middle of the movie that was SO GOOD with CHANNING TATUM. I couldn’t have planned it better myself. It’s truly a commendable scene that is sure to put women over 44 in heat. Bullock and Tatum could hate each other. They could loathe each other to the point that security is ever present on set. I wouldn’t care. Nothing can ruin this for me. I have also been stalking Channing Tatum’s TikTok enough that I should be on an FBI watchlist, and all of the behind-the-scenes videos of the cast have convinced me that they’re all friends and I should love the movie forever and ever like I plan to. It’s so strange to me when A-listers are actually funny because I feel like they had to have sold their soul to the devil in order to achieve celebrity status (which would obviously include their ability to have a sense of humor), but everyone killed it. Brad Pitt, you made me laugh so much for all of your screen time. But you probably suck and that makes me sad.

THE PLOT

I won’t reveal too much of the magic, but the plot was digestible and hilarious compared to the dumpster fires of the last decade. Sandra Bullock’s character Lorretta is a reclusive author mourning the fading (but still smarting) loss of her husband, an archeologist to match her love of history. She made her fame on writing steamy romance novels featuring the character Dash, whose likeness is portrayed on the covers by Channing Tatum’s character and flaming dum-dum, Alan, who has maintained a small crush on Loretta for the years he’s known her (she also hates him, to make things interesting). When Alan sees Loretta being kidnapped from her own book tour, he vows to be the one to rescue her in order to show that he’s more than just a cover model. Meanwhile, Loretta discovers that she has been kidnapped by an equally reclusive millionaire played by Daniel Radcliffe, who needs her help to find the legendary lost treasure she had written about in her recent novel.

It’s such a wonderfully dumb plot filled with so many opportunities for fun within the writers’ room, and boy, did they take them. The jokes aren’t super millennial-humored (they’re starting to learn, thank God) and tend to be geared toward more of a twenty-something age range rather than 30s and up, though I saw this movie with my mother and she had only nice things to say about it. She’s not alone, as my sister and I were literally rolling with laughter from the first time Channing Tatum entered the shot to the very last second of the post-credit scene (which is a must, by the way).

****

I wholeheartedly recommend this film for anyone that enjoys rom-coms and perhaps needs a break from all of the actually good, pretentious films that have been winning awards and stuff. If I had to choose between The Batman or The Lost City to watch on a ten hour loop… Well, you know the answer to that scenario. This movie makes me feel a glimmer of hope that perhaps the rom-com genre can return to the bounty it one yielded. But be warned, Channing Tatum’s entire butt is on screen for a solid 8-10 minutes. If you are with your mother and would like to avoid that, heed my words.