Stupendously silly is Paramount’s The Lost City, mixing an Indiana Jones story with a slapstick romantic comedy in one of the few big-budget movies that’s come out this year. It’s mostly enjoyable, though with half the time being lots of fun, the other half is slow and boring.
What helps immensely is the charm of stars Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum - two very famous and likeable actors who thankfully treat the silly story as seriously as they can.
These “lovebirds” the only source of charm in The Lost City’s shallow story, but is it enough to come up with several chuckle-inducing lines. It isn’t funny often, but when it is, the laughs deliver big time.
The basic premise is a bored author of trashy novels (Bullock) is kidnapped by a collector billionaire who connects some details from her latest book to a real treasure. But who comes to the rescue? Non-other than handsome and debatably dimwitted novel cover model (Tatum) - and now they have to survive the jungle together.
The mixing of a romance novel with a high-octane action/adventure is strange to begin with, but the Nee brothers (who wrote and directed the movie) chose to make the tone surprisingly goofy and nonchalant. While it makes it easier to laugh at, which is good in a romantic comedy, it makes the action/adventure bits boring by comparison.
It does make some sense that the material has the seriousness of the same women’s romance fantasy novels the script is spoofing. In a movie, however, that sale comes across as pulpy instead of sweet.
What’s really surprising, however, are that the two best actors are Daniel Radcliffe (yes, of Harry Potter fame) and Brad Pitt. Radcliffe is a gleefully nasty villain type who’s acting with more commitment than the script deserves, and Pitt’s short role has the same dedication that makes him compelling to watch.
Even so, Bullock and Tatum’s chemistry is admirable. One of the funniest scenes is with the leeches in the river - there are several cheap jokes, and yet our whole theatre was laughing out loud. It’s good to be in a room with strangers watching a movie again.
As a young adult male, I brought my fiancée with me to see how well she liked it as a counterpoint (and also to see whether the target market likes it too.) She laughed just as much as I did, and she found the rest of it breezy and “fun but forgettable.”
Fans of thin romance novels with likely find some fun in The Lost City. The charm, however, only goes so far, and it’s not enough to elevate the silly source material.
The Lost City
5 out of 10
PG, 1hrs 52mins. Comedy Romance Adventure.
Co-written and Directed by Aaron and Adam Nee.
Starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Brad Pitt.
Now Playing at Film.Ca Cinemas, 5 Drive-In, Cineplex Winston Churchill and Cineplex Oakville & VIP.
