A 2024 trend of age gap romances continues with an older female and a much younger man in Lonely Planet, Netflix’s latest foray into the genre. In the aftermath of The Idea of You and A Family Affair, it would not be entirely out of the question for Lonely Planet to feel a bit too familiar. The attempts to form a charming travel romance—wherein an aloof author gets swept away by the advances of an impossibly attractive (and notably taken) finance guy—fall flat for a variety of reasons. Primarily, leaning too heavily on clichés and predictable tropes of the genre probably did the movie no favors. The conflict presents as bare-bones, leading our central author on a journey with little to say. At least we have Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth at the center, two exceptional actors that, combined with the lush scenery, make Lonely Planet worthy of a casual watch whilst folding clothes.
As Katherine (Dern, Jurassic Park, Big Little Lies) arrives at the Kasbah A’shab International Writer’s Retreat in Morocco, the only thing she wants to do is finish off her newest novel. With luggage lost and Katherine’s introverted nature, she holes up in her room, avoiding meeting the other big names that have also signed up. A noticeable shift occurs when Owen (Hemsworth, The Hunger Games, The Last Song) arrives to the resort with his girlfriend, writer Lily (Diana Silvers, Ma, Booksmart). This setup already signals where the direction of the story heads: Katherine, the titular lonely writer, meets Owen, the hunky and charming but seemingly out of reach businessman, and the two eventually form a connection.
Their first encounter feels less meet-cute and more happy accident, as Owen offers to walk Katherine back to her room one night when she gets lost in the expansive locale. This does nicely establish Owen as a proper gentleman, albeit one lacking a lively personality. Who would turn down the eye candy of a shirtless Hemsworth? It is not until later, when their car breaks down, that the two are forced into spending some quality time together. A connection forms when Owen and Katherine hole up at a local town awaiting transport back. In Katherine, Owen sees a fellow antisocial wallflower. Occasionally, a line of dialogue manages to tether a wholesome kindness to each of them. On the flip side, Owen’s girlfriend has been written as the jealous, superficial foil to Katherine’s depth—an easy device to make the audience root for the wronged party to find love with someone more “deserving.” Though certainly a common formula, here, it feels shallow.
The sexual tension between Katherine and Owen escalates in a series of increasingly predictable steps. While their chemistry is passable, the romance lacks emotional weight. Their connection feels like a checklist of romance tropes rather than a believable relationship. The characters, particularly Lily and Owen, are too one-dimensional to offer any surprises. Katherine’s writing journey sadly gets overshadowed by her relationship with Owen. For a movie about an author, a noticeable lack of depth will leave viewers anxious to leave this middling chapter behind for superior lovey-dovey vibes elsewhere.
Fall into the orbit of Lonely Planet, debuting globally to Netflix on Friday, October 11th.
