Rushmore, The Reader, The Graduate, Breakfast at Tiffany’s — you name it. The older-woman-falls-for-younger-man-and-vice-versa rom-com has been around forever, but it’s only recently that the streaming world seems to have relentlessly embraced it.
And, of course, it’s an embracement to a fault. The Idea of You on Prime Video was a strong take on the subgenre, but so far, Netflix hasn’t been able to stick a similar landing. A Family Affair, tragically unable to focus on the right characters, was the first misfire, and we’re currently in the presence of another. We know this because, as is natural for relatively limp rom-coms, this particular one is dominating the charts.
Per FlixPatrol, this day of Oct. 15 has seen Lonely Planet soar to the lonely top of the worldwide Netflix film charts. It stars Laura Dern as successful writer Katherine Loewe, who’s in the middle of separating from her partner as she travels to Morocco for a writing retreat. Also present is finance manager Owen Brophy (Liam Hemsworth), who attends the retreat as a plus-one for his debut author girlfriend Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers). Over the course of the trip, Owen becomes increasingly aware of his incompatibility with Lily in equal measure to his enjoyment around Katherine.
The sophomore directorial effort of Susannah Grant (who most famously penned the screenplay for Erin Brockovich, and also wrote Disney’s Pocahontas, Ever After, and her directorial debut Catch and Release), Lonely Planet is simply too relaxed for its own good, even in the context of a genre more-or-less defined by its comfortability and the occasional morsel of wisdom. One can barely critique the plot’s loose ends because you’re never too invested in the first place, and while there’s feasible charm between its two leads, the world around them is too committed to its thoughtless triteness for the film to hold any meaningful space.
Speaking of rom-coms that aren’t particularly meaningful, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is currently shoring up seventh place on the charts, no doubt having its successor Venom: The Last Dance — due in theaters on Oct. 25 — to thank for this surge in popularity, because lord knows the excruciatingly limited merits of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe aren’t to thank. Indeed, no matter how entertaining the dynamic between the symbiote and Eddie Brock is here, a paltry script is always and will forever be a death sentence.
Conversely, a cracklingly intelligent script is an almost foolproof cinematic springboard, as demonstrated by It’s What’s Inside, the Netflix original sci-fi-horror-comedy occupying 10th place on the charts. In the film, a group of twenty-somethings utilize a body-swapping machine to play a game where they have to guess who’s in whose body, and things go south in the blink of an eye.
The logistical dexterity of writer-director Greg Jardin’s script — which succeeds at the unenviable task of weaving together an intriguing plot while juggling eight mixed-and-matched identities — makes for a satisfying watch on its own, but the film’s haunting observations about bodies and desire and the discordant potential of the human condition is what truly packs this story’s punch. The direction, at times dizzying and at other times revelatory, makes for some mighty fine visual packaging as well.