Hot Stars, Bad Movies, Beautiful Countries

Start by casting two movie stars with careers on the rise. Take a classic story from the Bard; water it down with contemporary dialogue. Sprinkle in some slap stick comedy, and you have the recipe for a modern romantic comedy. This playbook has worked for generations. Two star-crossed lovers meet in the big city and immediately fall for one another. Opposites butt heads for an hour and a half before finally realizing their true feelings. The romcom tropes go on and on. Some writers mix up the stories with a twist here, or an unexpected character to foil the budding romance there. But the formula persists. One cheap plot device attempted with greater frequency nowadays, however, is the tropical or exotic setting.

The Modern Vacation Romcom Leaves Much to be Desired

There’s a recent, albeit extensive, history of filming what we’ll call “vacation romcoms,” and there’s sadly not much to be proud of. The most recent example is Anyone But You, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell. The two meet in Boston and hit it off, but through a series of miscommunications fall out of love, only to reconnect during a wedding in Sydney. Australian beaches, hikes through the Outback, and the picturesque harbor serve as perfect backdrops to rekindle the initial flames. But with its forced dialogue and flat performances (by some), Anyone But You begs this ultimate question: Did the crew just want a vacation?

Anyone But You is far from the first movie to prompt this question though. There’ve been several films in recent years (mostly romcoms) that fit this mold. Take Ticket to Paradise. Sure, George Clooney and Julia Roberts aren’t on the rise—they’re two of the biggest stars of the last thirty years. But they are rarely cast in traditional romcoms today. Was this just an excuse to shoot in Bali (actually Queensland, Australia)?

Then there’s Aloha. Cameron Crowe’s bizarre romp through Hawaii (and I suppose space?) about a disgraced military contractor (Bradley Cooper) reconnecting with an old girlfriend (Rachel McAdams). Meanwhile, he starts developing feelings for his quirky and naïve military liaison (Emma Stone). The story leaves much to be desired, but who would argue with weeks of shooting on the islands?

The same issues are rampant in movies like You, Me & Tuscany (Tuscany), Letters to Juliet (Verona), Couples Retreat (Bora Bora), When in Rome (obvious), Fool’s Gold (Australia), among others. Matthew Goode, co-star alongside Amy Adams, in Leap Year said he specifically chose the mediocre film because he wouldn’t have to travel far from his native England. This mentality certainly carried over into the film.

Why Do Actors Choose Vacation Romcoms?

So why make these movies? Many vacation romcoms include major actors who presumably know the difference between quality films and, well, this list. Could it be that all these scripts went through too many rewrites to remain coherent, that the dialogue got so muddied beyond recognition? Maybe if anyone wanted to take the time to collect the oral histories for these movies, which I’m sure they don’t, the scripts would be prime candidates for ridicule. But this can’t be the case for every one of these movies. Too many first-time directors? Nope, most had sizable track records in the first place to attract mega stars.

Without any good explanation, perhaps the logical conclusion is that everyone simply wanted a vacation. Who can blame them? If you were offered a job that shot in the San Fernando Valley or Europe, or French Polynesia, or the Caribbean, which would you choose? That was a rhetorical question.

This isn’t to say that all movies set in exotic or tropical destinations are inherently bad. Some comedies and romcoms have been able to find true emotional centers. Take Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s screwball characters in Hawaii. Or even the eccentric extended family of Crazy Rich Asians, set in Singapore. Lost in Translation shouldn’t really be uttered in the same essay as the rest of these movies, but the city of Tokyo is as much a character as Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

But here’s the main point I’m trying to make: Why can’t these incredible locations redeem these otherwise mediocre films? There are plenty of movies that have been “saved” by novel cinematography. Not to besmirch Terence Malick, but all his films aren’t all created equal — nevertheless, all have a beautiful, dreamlike, distinctive aesthetic to them. Take A Hidden Life or (controversial take) Days of Heaven. Beautiful movies, but not the best. Many of Baz Luhrmann’s pictures fall into this category as well.

Others have been saved by acting. Think about the ensemble of Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, and Steve Carrell in the tough-to-watch Foxcatcher. Or Philip Seymour Hoffman in Along Came Polly. Or even Ewan McGregor in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Others have been saved by unbelievable set pieces or action sequences. Think anything in the Matrix universe after the first film. Or the visually stunning attack in Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor. Or Denzel Washington miraculously saving the passengers in Flight. And not to harp on the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but the lightsaber battle at the end of Episode I is iconic.

If these qualities were able to salvage films, why can’t beautiful locations rescue lackluster romcoms? I believe they can. Many of these movies prove eminently rewatchable — not because of the acting. And don’t get me started on the line readings. But on a rainy day from my home in D.C., why not jump at the opportunity to transport myself to a picturesque beach in Australia? Or the Hawaiian islands? Or a lush Italian countryside?

Conclusion

Exotic locations have the same redemptive qualities as camerawork, acting, and set pieces. And while these romcoms were never in jeopardy of winning serious awards, we should treat vacation movies with some respect because of their power to take us to new places. So the next time there’s a movie with a sub-50 Rotten Tomatoes score with two heartthrobs who can’t act, but it’s set in the Amalfi Coast, or Rio, or Fiji, maybe give it a chance. You might appreciate it more than you think.