A bit of physical comedy in the opening scene of "The Lost City" establishes how inventive the movie will be.
'The Lost City' delivers laughs as Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum bicker
Yes, the adventure comedy resembles "Romancing the Stone" but who says that's a bad thing?
March 24, 2022 at 12:30PM
Sandra Bullock, playing an over-it romance writer, is on stage with the himbo cover model for her books, played by Channing Tatum in a Nicki Minaj wig. She's desperate to get out of there but he wants to milk the moment so he grabs her, contorting her into an unwilling dip. That would be amusing, anyway, because the screenplay establishes the characters' attitudes so clearly. But it becomes really funny because of the way Bullock hangs limply from Tatum's arms, her weary grimace suggesting she'd rather be getting knee-replacement surgery or calculating the square root of something.
The unlikely-unless-you've-already-seen-"Romancing-the-Stone" plot quickly finds them in a jungle, involved in a search for missing jewels sought by the evil maniac who kidnapped Bullock (he's played by Daniel Radcliffe, making an early entry into the Alan Rickman/supervillain phase of his career). Forced together in a series of madcap misadventures, the even-keeled Bullock and whiny Tatum characters gradually gain respect for each other. And, possibly, more than that.
Even if you haven't seen "Romancing," you'll recognize the romantic comedy formula here but it's been so long since we've seen a movie of this ilk that "Lost City" feels fresh. It helps that the usual gender roles are reversed ("Wait. I'm the damsel in distress?" Tatum asks) and that Bullock and, especially, Tatum are such game performers.
Even better, directors Aaron and Adam Nee make sure the bickering stars aren't the whole show. At least five supporting characters are given enough room to create something funny, including Brad Pitt as a parody of himself, Da'Vine Joy Randolph (from "Only Murders in the Building") as Bullock's long-suffering agent and Patti Harrison ("Shrill") as an overconfident but talent-free lackey.
Everyone's on the same page, not an easy thing to accomplish in a movie that juggles so many elements: adventure, farce, romance and satire. In some scenes, the movie takes the "Scream" approach of simultaneously celebrating and making fun of a genre — although, somehow, no one ever thinks to joke about the fact that Bullock's elaborate, "Real Housewives"-level eye makeup remains pristine throughout.
The Nees don't quite know when to quit. Once the movie reaches the home stretch, we get where this is going and we need them to speed things up. But "The Lost City" is such fun — and so well-timed to a moment when we need some fun — that I'm guessing you won't mind.
'The Lost City'
*** out of 4 stars
Rated: PG-13 for language and Channing Tatum's bare butt.
Where: Area theaters.
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