‘The Lost City’ is a throwback to romantic comedies of the 80’s and 90’s; hopelessly silly and chock full of very famous, very pretty faces, seemingly cast on the condition that they have a blast doing it. In this case, it appears that they do – and thank goodness, the feeling is infectious.
In short, this movie is fun. I could dissect it like a roast chicken and explore more about where it ticks along and where it’s sluggish – but really, there’s no point. The finished product is fun, and that’s really all you need to know.
Driving the ship in ‘The Lost City’ is Sandra Bullock who, at one time, was churning out one of these beauties about once per year, and shows that she definitely still has the magic touch. Here, she stars as Loretta Sage, a romance novelist who is exhausted by her own brand of ridiculous literary ham, aching for the days in which she penned more intellectually solid work with her late archaeologist husband. Some of her historic findings DO make their way into her soft core adventure fluff, which explains why billionaire playboy Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) abducts Sage and whisks her off to a faraway island, complete with an angry volcano, to help him decipher an ancient language to ultimately track down a hidden treasure.
Coming to the rescue (well, SORT of) is Sage’s dimwitted Fabio-inspired cover model Alan (Channing Tatum), who witnessed the kidnapping and feels that his crossfit training and ample supply of snacks will do the trick in bringing the author home safely. He DOES hit up a skilled mercenary/yoga buddy (Brad Pitt, totally mugging it up in what has to be the cameo appearance of the year) to assist in the mission, although that goes horribly (and hilariously) wrong…but hey, no spoilers.
The story is quite simple and formulaic, but then it’s supposed to be. The appeal of ‘The Lost City’ is in using the same winsome ingredients that made similar fare like ‘Romancing The Stone’ such a big AND likeable smash hit – and they all start with the chemistry of the leads. Thankfully, that chemistry is absolutely bursting with Bullock and Tatum. They make this night out at the movies fun. And yes, there’s that word again.
