Liam Hemsworth and Laura Dern Barely Save This Trope-Packed ...

Netflix looks to build on its reputation for romance with Lonely Planet, but the Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth-led movie has more in common with the romantic escapes of the Hallmark brand than the steamy romances of Bridgerton or Virgin River. The film faithfully goes along with all the conventions of the romance genre, making it comforting and charming for fans. But anyone looking for something unique will be left wanting just a little more.

Lonely Planet centers on Katherine Loewe, played by Dern, a very successful novelist who's struggling with her next book and trying to deal with the end of a 14-year relationship. She believes that going to a writers' retreat in Morocco will unblock her -- and it does, but only because she meets Hemsworth's equally lost Owen Brophy. The two characters are eventually drawn to one another, and from then on, director and writer Susannah Grant hits all the necessary notes. They just don't quite reach the feeling of an epic love affair.

Liam Hemsworth and Laura Dern Make Lonely Planet

The Two Stars Are the Movie's Best Asset

Every great romantic movie needs two outstanding leads to carry it. From Matthew MacFadyen's version of Mr. Darcy to Julia Roberts making her name in countless rom-coms, the audience has to feel charmed by the actors as their characters fall in love with each other. The clearest thing in Lonely Planet is that Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth are giving the movie all they've got. Hemsworth is in somewhat familiar territory here, as many viewers will remember him from the romantic drama The Last Song. He's charismatic but doesn't overdo it, even in the moments where the movie wants a big reaction. It's harder for him to pull off the inner conflict that Owen has regarding a shady business deal, but that's not his fault, because that subplot unfolds over brief phone calls and mostly on-screen texts, so he's playing that bit essentially by himself.

Dern will always be well-known and beloved for playing Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park, where viewers rooted for Ellie and Alan Grant's doomed romance. She's not associated in viewers' minds with this particular genre, but her history of playing complex and sometimes thorny women is a huge boon to the role of Katherine Loewe. Particularly at the start of the film, Katherine can be brusque and antisocial, not wanting to engage with anyone or anything. That would be off-putting in the hands of any other performer. But Dern adds a lot to the character simply by how she reacts, so that when Owen inevitably gets Katherine to open up, it feels plausible. Yet like Hemsworth, she also stays grounded; Katherine still is a bit cantankerous, not melting into a puddle just because she falls in love.

Hemsworth and Dern won't go down in history as the next hit screen couple, but they have a pleasant give and take together and will catch the audience by surprise. Unfortunately, the supporting cast in Lonely Planet doesn't fare as well. All of the other characters have a specific function in the plot, and they're not developed beyond whatever part they have to play in influencing Katherine and Owen's attraction. The character who gets the most screen time is Lily Kemp, who begins the movie as Owen's girlfriend. From the moment she's introduced as such, the audience knows that a breakup is on the way. But Grant's script can't quite decide what to do with her -- and so she winds up falling into the archetype of the selfish soon-to-be ex. That's the fundamental issue with Lonely Planet; it's not lonely, because there are dozens of movies that have told this kind of story before.

Lonely Planet Relies on Romance Tropes - And Succeeds

Fans of the Genre Will Be Swept Off Their Feet

The Hallmark comparison exists because Hallmark Channel has made a whole brand out of beloved romance films, whether they're popular Christmas movies or any number of charming stories with a happy ending. Viewers know what they're going to get: two characters who are usually either total opposites or ex-lovers are drawn together for some common goal, and by the end of the movie they've not only found what they need but fallen in love with each other. Lonely Planet is the Netflix equivalent of a Hallmark movie, in all the best ways. The audience knows exactly what's coming around the corner, and thus will leave the movie satisfied, even if they're not surprised.

Susannah Grant is known to Netflix viewers for co-creating and executive producing the critically acclaimed miniseries Unbelievable, but with this movie she successfully goes back to her roots. Grant's directorial debut was the 2006 romantic drama Catch and Release, starring Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant, and Lonely Planet feels like that movie with less bite and better scenery. Both main characters enter the film with relationship troubles -- Katherine has been dumped and Owen's relationship with Lily is clearly in trouble. Both are looking for something in their individual lives and it's only through meeting each other that they have their respective epiphanies. They "meet cute" a few times over and share knowing looks across rooms. Eventually they spend the night together. Then they have a sudden fight that escalates pretty quickly in the fourth act, so that the film can provide the scene where they're reunited and confess their feelings to each other. Every possible thing that romance fans could want is in this movie and it's all executed exactly as it should be.

But that means the movie's mileage will vary among audiences, depending on what they're looking for. Everything in Lonely Planet gets tied up easily, from Owen discovering that Lily has cheated on him so that he can move on, to Katherine saying that Owen inspired her to write a new book. Even when the characters are at their lowest points, there's not a ton of tension because the audience knows that the whole point of the film is for everything to work out in the end. Any bigger messages about self-discovery, seeing the world or being true to oneself get lost in the romance of it all. The "drama" part of the romantic drama is not nearly as successful -- though Grant deserves flowers for not making the age difference between the two characters a major aspect of the story. This is a romance that just happens to be between an older woman and a younger man. It doesn't need an age gap debate or any other gimmick when it has such a clear path to follow.

Dern and Hemsworth are a wonderful pair (enough that someone should cast them in another movie together), and that helps to smooth over some of the plot contrivances. Audiences want to see that last, sweeping moment where Katherine and Owen get together, no matter how obvious it is. Lonely Planet could flesh out its characters and the Moroccan world around them far more than it does, and it would've felt like the "powerful, life-changing romance" it wants to be. But for what it brings to the table, it's worth checking out. Grant has written a capable romance that may not be the next Notting Hill or While You Were Sleeping, yet it will win over any viewer looking for something cozy and charming.

Lonely Planet is now streaming on Netflix.