In the spirit of The Woman in the Window, The Lost City’s middle-aged protagonist, Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock, crushing it in the rom-com genre at fifty-seven), is someone who is perfectly content to be a shut-in. With the enjoyment of copious amounts of wine (specifically, chardonnay with ice) and cheese being all she needs to get by, her publisher’s constant harassment about when she might finish her book, called The Lost City of D (and yes, that’s what the movie itself was originally going to titled… but apparently, that was too “risqué”), is more than Loretta can bear. After all, she’s still grieving over the loss of her archaeologist husband (again, this widow shtick has major The Woman in the Window vibes).
Even so, Beth (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) keeps haranguing her “cash cow” writer, going so far as to pour all of her money into a book tour to promote the project, complete with the presence of her dashing cover model, “Dash” a.k.a. Alan Caprison (yes, you read the last name right). This little “PR move” is made despite the fact that Loretta can’t stand it when he comes on tour, feeling it upstages any talk of the book and ultimately makes her look stupid. But then, Beth deciding to outfit her in a bright purple sequined jumpsuit might have already helped with that anyway. This was likely more counsel from Allison (Patti Harrison), the “social media manager” (still a totally fake title) Beth hired to help promote the tour. And “help” it she does by offering such insights as, “We’re targeting a younger demographic. You know, women who are in their thirties who wanna be in their twenties”—therefore hashtagging every post: #shawnmendes. And yes, it is entirely believable that an author—especially a female one—would have to go through all this marketing-oriented pomp and circumstance to shill a few books.
As for the presence of Tatum (and, more importantly, his Fabio wig), Bullock, who also produced, makes way for a break from the usual Hollywood standard in terms of the age difference between co-stars. The one between Bullock and Tatum is what a viewer could still call “inverse”—in that, for once, the actress is older than her love interest; in this case, only a modest sixteen years older. Compared to, say, any actor cast in a Woody Allen movie’s age difference with “his” leading lady.
Ah, and talking of Woody Allen, there was a time during his heyday when the “romantic action-adventure comedy” was more bankable at the box office. And it would seem the writers of The Lost City are turning to past films of this nature for inspiration. The script was helmed by Dana Fox (who recently brought us Cruella, among other rom-com classics like The Wedding Date and What Happens in Vegas), as well as Oren Uziel and the co-directing brother duo that is Aaron and Adam Nee. With all those minds put together, the quartet is still clearly drawing from some tried-and-true gems of such a highly specific movie genre.
With a dash of Indiana Jones, The Jewel of the Nile, Romancing the Stone and even that Nickelodeon game show, Legends of the Hidden Temple, The Lost City amasses cinematic security from many past tropes, while also staying entirely innovative. It remains faithful to the cliches of romance novels, to boot. This includes the presence of “dreamy” Brad Pitt, in his own Fabio-esque guise, playing the role of a former Navy SEAL named Jack Trainer. His long, flowing blonde hair isn’t the only thing that catches Loretta’s eye, but also his calming air and the delivery of a line stolen from Alan: “Shh, you’re safe now.”
It is Alan who foolishly enlists someone better-looking and more graceful than he is to help rescue Loretta from an obscure island in the Atlantic. One she’s taken to after being kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (because you can’t say “billionaire” without “eccentric”) named Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), whose brothers also possess the “gender-neutral” names of Beverly and Leslie. For he believes—not wrongly—that she can decipher the symbols of an ancient language (based on its presence in her new romance novel) to help him decode the location of the “Crown of Fire.” And being that white rich boys love to “attain the unattainable” as a means to tell themselves they’re special, Abigail is a madman on an unstoppable mission.
That is, until Jack shows up to the island with a puppy-like Alan—determined to be seen as “more than just a cover model” by Loretta. But that plan is foiled as Loretta instantly takes a shine to Jack, asking, “How are you so handsome?” He replies matter-of-factly, “My father was a weatherman.” From there, the high-octane pace intermixed with an absurdist plotline doesn’t stop, with Alan’s competition being quite literally blown away so that Loretta can now only focus on him as “hero material.”
As for their romance novelist/cover model dynamic, Johanna Lindsey and Fabio seem like the most viable source of inspiration to compare it to. And, of course, Alan’s wig while playing “Dash” is an overt nod to the illustrious cover modeling days of Fabio, who appeared on four hundred-plus “bodice-ripping paperbacks” in his day. Per Sandra Bullock, she decided to name the wig Sheila, as it gave Tatum an entirely new personality every time he put it on. No word on whether she named any of the leeches on his backside during one of the many standout “Chan moments” of the movie. And, of course, Alan’s wig getting snatched by Loretta’s watch at the book event is pure comedy gold—along with the small part Bowen Yang plays as Ray the Moderator.
Those who would actually deign to critique The Lost City with so much seriousness are missing the point (as a certain Vanity Fair article entitled “The Lost City is A Treasure Hunt That Comes Up Short” did). Reviews of that nature couldn’t be further from the truth. For it is a laugh-a-minute, which was Bullock’s entire intent: to bring joy back into people’s lives. Even if only for under two hours.
As for Loretta’s character traits, not feeling the need to actually go out and experience things for herself after becoming so comfortable in the safety of her own home is familiar territory for many who got overly “into the groove” with lockdown life during the pandemic. And even going to see a movie in the theater now has truly become an “event” for many. Something Bullock has honored with her commitment to wanting “the audiences to walk away with such escapism.” She added, “I want you to laugh your ass off… I want you to fall in love—and we’re gonna do it while dragging you through the mud, sending you on an adventure, like, tropical locations, gorgeous locations [mostly in the Dominican Republic], beautiful sunsets, dangerous situations, an incredible group of people… We’re gonna tick all the boxes that we’ve really been missing because we got very serious, you know, I just want there to be a joy in the journey in the theater because life has been really, really hard.”
Succeed she does at this task, even in that highly uncomfortable and now iconic bright purple sequined jumpsuit (which would be an easy Halloween costume, even if a surefire way to unnecessarily support Shein). A wardrobe choice that was not without its filming pratfalls. Namely, Bullock admitted that she drank as little as possible to avoid having to take it off—as jumpsuits are notoriously problematic for going to the bathroom in.
And while she might have funneled her own personality quirks into Loretta (including an obsession with eating cheese that belies her quintessential “Hollywood actress bod”), of the character, Bullock essentially described a Julia Quinn type with, “She’s a historical writer, basically, and she just would add some sex to it in order to get it to sell because no one was buying history books.”
Phrases like “Well of Tears” and “Crown of Fire” also feel decidedly Harry Potter-esque (maybe it’s the Radcliffe influence) in their made-up nature—part of an alternate world sprung from the mind of a fantasy-oriented author. A world in which product placement is also key. After all, it’s a right proper major studio movie, as evidenced by the overt presence of labels like Don Julio and Stella Artois.
As for getting Loretta out of her shell, which has been Alan’s intent all along, she remains fiercely stubborn about it—even when presented with no choice. That’s why, while climbing a rock in her jumpsuit, she defiantly declares, “My skills are sitting, thinking and eating.” The demographic that is perfectly suited to viewing this bust-a-gut narrative.
