Has anyone had a Moroccan rom-com with Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth on their 2024 bingo card? If so, congratulations, even if the resulting film is a lame, chemistry-less excuse for these two characters to visit a series of nostalgia spots and earn a nice Netflix paycheck. Dern, a national treasure, can be commended for his efforts The Lonely Planetis a made-for-television film about a writer, Katherine Loewe, who goes to a writers’ retreat to finish her novel after a breakup. This is where she meets Owen Brophy, a financier (or something) who is the boyfriend of young novelist Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers). What follows is a series of scenes that force these two characters to meet despite having nothing in common and not being able to spark a single spark.
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LONELY PLANET ★1/2 (1.5/4 stars) |
Katherine arrives at a luxurious, deserted resort without her baggage and isolationist attitude. He is there only to write, not to interact with other writers, whom he seems to look down upon. Lily brought Owen along—a strange decision when you know how the writing process backfires—despite the fact that he doesn’t enjoy traveling and is always on the phone making deals. As it turns out, Katherine and Owen end up stuck on a dirt road in a broken down car after a day of wandering around Chefchaouen. They connect, although it is not clear what, disconnects unrelated to their different ages. Owen and Lily grow increasingly distant as the days pass, humiliating her during a writing game (she doesn’t know who Pip is from Great Expectations that is, which should be a shame if he ever graduated from high school). Katherine and Owen grow closer and closer, and the viewer becomes more and more indifferent.
The Lonely Planetfrom award-winning writer and director Susannah Grant, should add up to something compelling. It has beautiful settings and works like an ad for Morocco travel. The premise is decent and Katherine is a relatable character who seems right at home in a rom-com. But Hemsworth, who has always struggled to convey compelling emotions on screen, can’t bring Owen to life. He’s just a good looking guy who wants to protect the people who invest with him (or something). What Katherine sees in him is not entirely clear, although Dern does her best with the script she’s given. When the two finally get together, in one of the most uncomfortable sex scenes in film history, you don’t want to find out. A better version of this movie is that Katherine falls in love with a hot worker who always finds her in a quiet place to work.
Yes, despite these drawbacks, The Lonely Planet seems destined for Netflix’s Top Ten. The algorithm knows what people will watch and the combination of Dern and Hemsworth is impossible to deny. You have to see what happens, even if you know the result won’t win anyone an Oscar. The movie isn’t really bad—it’s just wooden and unsatisfying, both traits that apply to many romantic movies of the past that we still watch and enjoy moderately. Dern deserves a better rom-com with a better partner. She’s always compelling and it’s clear that she could be a winning wife in a movie like this (proving that age doesn’t matter when it comes to love and Hollywood). Katherine looks for inspiration while in Morocco and, meanwhile, Dern has to look for a better project.
‘Lonely Planet’ is streaming on Netflix now.
