Netflix's new no. 1 movie comes from an Oscar nominated writer

Netflix’s latest number one movie is from a genre we don’t see clogging up cinemas and streamer’s release schedules nearly as often as we used to.

Lonely Planet is a romance. It's about a novelist (Laura Dern) who goes on a Moroccan retreat holiday for work, only to find herself distracted by Liam Hemsworth. Or at least his character, Owen.

The one snag is he’s on the retreat with his girlfriend, who also happens to be a big fan of the author’s work. Laura Dern’s character is also significantly older than Owen.

We’ve said romcoms and plain old love stories aren’t as common as they used to be. But we do seem to be going through a period where age gap love stories — of an older woman and a younger man — are trending.

As well as Lonely Planet we had A Family Affair, a film released in June starring Nicole Kidman, and The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway.

The Lonely Planet wasn’t quite as well reviewed as The Idea of You, earning just 38% from Rotten Tomatoes. But plenty of the reviews suggest it’s a perfectly decent way to spend 94 minutes if you like the idea of a romance flick.

The Chicago Sun-Times calls it “pure romantic-drama escapism” in a solid 2.5/4 review, despite calling it “so thin that if the original material had been in book form, that book would have been a pamphlet.”

The Guardian’s 3/5 review says it’s the movie equivalent of a beach read, and “more grounded and self-aware than expected, enough to overcome the cliches and occasionally clunky dialogue.”

Screen Rant also gave Lonely Planet a 3/5 score. “it’s a thoughtful enough movie as we watch two characters grow together and break free of what held them back before; a lack of genuine romance in this instance isn’t a dealbreaker,” the review says.

Lonely Planet also has real movie pedigree. It was written and directed by Susannah Grant, whose writing credits include Erin Brockovich, In Her Shoes and Pocahontas. Her work on Erin Brockvich earned her a fistful of screenplay award nominations, including an Oscar, back in 2000.

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