Flaws be damned: Aaron Nee and Adam Nee's "The Lost City" is the perfect blend of silly-stupid with wide appeal that a weary movie-going audience needs right now. Movie theaters are limping along, hanging onto a liferaft being commanded by Batman and Spider-Man, without much else making a substantial dent at the box office. A comedy adventure throwback like "The Lost City" could persuade those with no interest in superhero properties to come back to the movies, and they would have a fun time doing so.
In a lot of ways, the plot of "The Lost City" isn't the point. The movie is a chance for Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum to comfortably use their personas to build a rapport and play off each other, and they do so to great effect. Bullock stars as Loretta, the author of a popular series of romance novels. It's not the sophisticated writing she had hoped to do, but in the wake of her husband's passing, it was an escapist outlet. Loretta has grown disillusioned with the work she puts out, but she doesn't take into account that she has built a massive fanbase who love her work.
Loretta's assistant Beth (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) has organized a book tour for her latest release, but Loretta doesn't want anything to do with it. She's over her book series because she knows people aren't there for her, but her hunky cover model "Dash" (Tatum), whose real name is Alan. Alan shows up on stage and gives the crowd what they want but he really wishes to be taken much more seriously, especially in the eyes of Loretta. When Loretta is kidnapped by wacko billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe, having a cartoonishly fun time), Alan takes it upon himself to try and save her, which leads the two of them to trying to make it out of a jungle alive.
"The Lost City" is the kind of movie that would have made over $100 million in the mid-2000s just by coasting on the charms of its leads. In more recent years it would have seemed stale, but in today's movie-going world it's entirely welcome. To be clear, "The Lost City" is a movie that absolutely skates on the physical comedy prowess of Bullock and Tatum, and it feels refreshing to see genuine movie stars bring that kind of energy to the big screen.
The last half-hour or so of "The Lost City" begins to wear a bit thin and feel repetitive, but Bullock, Tatum and Radcliffe all bring their A-game and make the adventure worth it. Randolph steals a few big laughs, as does Patti Harrsion, who is hired to run Loretta's social media on the book tour. A true ensemble comedy feels so rare in the age of spectacle, which will make you appreciate "The Lost City" that much more.
The Lost City Movie Review By Matthew Passantino
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