The Lost City
Edgier than you might expect, "The Lost City" offers up big stars and big laughs on the big screen.
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I’ve always liked Sandra Bullock despite not really digging a lot of her filmography. Suffice it to say I’m way more of a “Demolition Man” and “Speed” dude than I am a “While You Were Sleeping” or “Miss Congeniality” cat.
I didn’t think much of Channing Tatum when he first hit the cinematic scene. He felt like a hunky, dancing himbo, but the brother hit pay dirt back in 2012 with the one-two punch of “21 Jump Street” and “Magic Mike.” These flicks revealed heretofore unseen comedic chops and vulnerability from Tatum, which made him a far more compelling on screen presence.
The prospect of seeing Bullock and Tatum team for the romantic action comedy “The Lost City” (now in theaters) proved to be an appealing one despite whatever caveats I’ve had with both performers. Throwing in an extended cameo from Brad Pitt (in his first big screen role since winning an Oscar for “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”) enticed me even further.
(Mostly I’m glad this movie finally got released as I’ve been inundated with its trailer for what seems to be an eternity – so much so that the phrase, “They’re sucking on my butt like a big ol’ Jamba Juice,” has likely appeared to me in my sleep. You’re next “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” – it’s gonna be a long two months!)
Bullock stars as Loretta Sage, an anthropologist-turned-romance novelist who’s become reclusive after the passing of her beloved husband. In conjunction with the release of her latest book “The Lost City of D,” Loretta’s publisher Beth Hatten (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “My Name Is Dolemite”) insists she take part in a promotional tour alongside social media specialist Allison (the hilarious Patti Harrison) and beloved, dim-witted cover model Alan (Tatum). It’s during this first junket that Loretta’s kidnapped by second fiddle mass media heir Abigail Fairfax (an unhinged Daniel Radcliffe), who believes she may be the key to him discovering a buried treasure on a faraway island. Alan, who very much likes Loretta despite her not thinking much of him, takes it upon himself to rescue her. He even goes so far as to enlist the services of Jack Trainer (Pitt), a former spec ops soldier whom he met at a yoga retreat.
“The Lost City,” while familiar in many regards (it’s essentially an inversion of Robert Zemeckis’ “Romancing the Stone”), is fun, funny and ultimately refreshing. It’s cool to see the age disparity between two leads favor the woman for once. Alan’s depicted as being ill-equipped for the jungle; not Loretta. Tatum is objectified far more than Bullock. Both performers play to their strengths. Bullock looks great (I can’t believe she’s 57!!!) and is able to display her deft abilities as a physical comedienne. Tatum’s Alan is far sweeter than he is dumb. And since this is a romantic comedy featuring Tatum, we get to see the dude dance not once but twice.
“The Lost City,” as directed by the Nee brothers (Aaron and Adam) and written by Oren Uziel (“22 Jump Street”), Dana Fox (“Cruella”) and the Nee’s, is an edgier affair than you might expect. Not to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but I’m surprised this received a PG-13 rating. A character gets their brains blown out somewhat graphically, there are long, lingering shots of Tatum’s bare buttocks and there are references to people getting sucked off. Truth be told, I was surprised by the edginess – but not turned off by it. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. I was impressed enough by the Nee’s work here that I feel a need to backtrack to check out their previous effort “Band of Robbers” and eagerly anticipate their upcoming “Masters of the Universe” movie for Netflix.
I preferred “The Lost City” to “Jungle Cruise” and “Uncharted” and place it on the same level as “Red Notice” (yeah, I’m the lone critic who dug that one). It was fun to see a big, mainstream comedy featuring big stars on the big screen with a big audience getting big laughs … it’d been a while.