Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely those of Marlon Wallace and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of WBOC.
There are some funny moments and funny scenes in this film. I think the casting is great, but there’s something that feels off about how the romance plays out. Directors Aaron and Adam Nee invoke such works as Romancing the Stone (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). Those films though could be criticized as being mired with the damsel-in-distress trope. This film sets itself up as being another entry mired in that same trope. However, the Nee brothers subvert that trope and they make the female character someone who doesn’t simply need to be rescued but more of the protagonist who does the rescuing. Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite become the female version of Indiana Jones. This film is not Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). It’s more in line with Gravity (2013) where she is a damsel-in-distress but it’s mostly her actions that save her. Yes, a particular man helps but in the final moments, it comes down to her decisions that save her.
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side and Crash) stars as Loretta Sage, a romance novelist who is also a widow, having lost her husband who was an archaeologist. She’s more of a fiction writer but it’s clear that she also has an interest in archaeology. She also claims to be a sapiosexual, or a person who is more sexually attracted to someone with intelligence, most likely high intelligence. This would explain her marriage to an archaeologist. However, her books are not highly intellectual. They’re arguably trashy romance books. She has a successful career though. She does include intellectual things in her books. Those intellectual things probably excite her more but she probably needs the trashy stuff around it in order to sell the books and make money.
Channing Tatum (Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street) co-stars as Alan Caprison, a male model who has been the one selected to be on the cover of Loretta’s trashy romance novels. Alan is supposed to be the visual representation of Loretta’s most popular character, that of “Dash McMahon.” He also plays the character of Dash when it comes to book tours or in-person appearances. It’s not clear how long the books have been around or how popular they are, but it doesn’t seem as though it’s popular enough to have been adapted into a film. Twilight (2008) came out three years after the book. Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) came out four years after the book. This series doesn’t appear to be on that level. If so, it would seem more likely that people would be more obsessed with whichever actor was chosen to be in the film adaptation.
It’s established that Alan isn’t an intellectual. He’s not that smart. He’s actually a bit dumb. He has a sweet nature. He’s a good guy. He seems to work exclusively as a model. It doesn’t seem as though he does any acting. Being on the cover of Loretta’s books and playing the character of Dash appear to be the only thing for which he’s known. Fans don’t even address him by his real name. They refer to him as “Dash.” It’s not clear how old he is but we are to assume that he’s probably the same age as Tatum. In that case, it seems odd that he hasn’t parlayed his career into anything more than just Dash. Perhaps he doesn’t have that great of an agent or this kind of modeling isn’t that lucrative.
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) also co-stars as Abigail Fairfax, a billionaire who is searching for a hidden treasure called “The Crown of Fire.” Abigail believes that Loretta can help him find it, so he kidnaps her and forces her to track down the artifact. He’s not necessarily in it for the money because he’s already a billionaire. He wants to find the treasure more out of ego and out of a warped kind of sibling rivalry, even though we never meet anyone else in his family.
The majority of the film is Loretta and Alan getting to know each other and possibly falling in love. Bullock and Tatum are both charming and at times hilarious. Their relationship possibly works better than that of Bullock and Keanu Reeves in something like Speed (1994). I’m not sure it works at all compared to something like The Proposal (2009) with Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Reeves is of course handsome but he doesn’t have the charm and comedic chops that compliment Bullock’s style or persona in the way that Reynolds and now Tatum have.
Yet, from a writing standpoint, I’m not convinced that Loretta would fall in love with Alan. Bullock’s character points out in Speed that two people in a life-or-death situation who survive it together often develop feelings but often don’t last. That’s my perception of the relationship here. At least in Speed or Romancing the Stone, the woman falls in love with the guy because the guy rescues her and is her savior. Yes, Alan is attempting to rescue her, but he’s only tangentially helpful with that. This film is therefore a subversion of that trope. Loretta establishes herself as a sapiosexual, which makes Alan likely the last person to whom she would be attracted, so I don’t really get we’re meant to believe in their romance.
Yes, Tatum is afforded the opportunity to be shirtless and even nude in a couple of scenes. Yes, he’s sexy and physically attractive. Yes, his character efforts to rescue her, but so does Loretta’s publicist named Beth, played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The United States vs. Billie Holiday and Dolemite Is My Name). I just don’t buy that Loretta would be interested in Alan beyond that. The film makes a point to underline the fact that Loretta is a widow, a grieving woman. The film builds to this idea that a woman’s greatest treasure is something that her dead husband gave to her. It’s not clear by the ending if this idea is a good thing or bad thing. The film tries to connect it to Loretta’s dead husband, but I think that connection falls flat.
PG-13 for violence, some bloody images, partial nudity and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 52 mins.
In theaters.
