The Lost City

I grew up on romance novels. If it didn't have a picture of Fabio on the front what was the point of reading it?! I loved the unrealistic predictable nature of relationships and the easy access to intimacy and love. That wasn't all I was into, though. I was more so enthralled by a story when the right amount of adventure was sprinkled in. So, when I saw the trailers weeks ago for "The Lost City" the little girl in side me cried with joy. Needless to say, I saw it this weekend and it was everything a girl could want with some minor upgrades that reversed some of the sexism that I often had a hard time ignoring in my most cherished pastime.

First off, it has been a while since a romance like this has gotten me so excited. It had all the elements I was looking for, saucy chemistry, silly humor, predictable trajectory, adventure, and best of all a little bit of mystery. You could guess at any point in the story line what was going to happen next and you might think that's awful, but for me it is a delight. I don't have to guess or worry, which left me feeling like I was on vacation for the two hours. Even the darkest, most serious moments were peppered with humor that made it feel as light as a cake baked with cornstarch. Overall they balanced all the typical romance elements to create an oasis away from reality.

Interestingly, though, there was not a lot of eye candy. I suspect that was so they would not take away from the attraction of the main bow, Channing Tatum. Still, there was an amazing lineup of actors and actresses supporting this movie, including Harry Potter himself, who has taken a note from Voldemort and become one hell of a bad guy. Daniel Radcliffe was the catalyst that moved this story forward and he did a great job filling the roll. The other support characters included big names like Brad Pitt and Da'Vine Randolph, who helped in the balance of this adventure. Again not eye candy, but it was wittly stacked giving the whole journey a mentally uplifting effect.

I told you they change the dynamics on sexism too and that this movie did! Typically in a rom-com the girl is ditzy, clumsy, or some other estetic that is holding her back. In this case we had a woman from the start who knew who she was and had her own income. She was in morning over a life partner, but she was still her own woman, which for me was refreshing. To boot, they reversed that ditzy clumsy characteristics towards the man. Not fair for men, but a delight to me. Tatum's character was charming in his goofy want to help his love interest. What upped that charm were his failures and accidental successes in those pursuits. Adding on to this, they also placed some esthetic drawbacks to his prince charming character by giving him eczema. This gave his character a couple of dynamics, showing that even the most perfect people are not perfect and that he had to work hard to achieve what he had. The effect made him approachable and look more like an equal.

The highlight of the hour and the driving force of the story, though, was Sandra Bullock. I grew up watching her movies and love still seeing her in lead romantic rolls. Her character is your average self made woman living a normal life and taking these ridiculous moments in stride. I mean it when I write ridiculous! Most of these scenarios were far fetched and she did a wonderful job of showing a woman who could think on her feet and go along with what life was throwing at her.

I don't want to give the whole plot away. There were some mysterious twists and some shocking deaths. However, the more I write the more I fear I will reveal all the goodies in this epic tale, so I will leave you with this:

Go see "The Lost City"