Bullock and Tatum get bungled in the jungle with big laughs.
A funny thing happened to me during my viewing of the adventure comedy “The Lost City.” The first 20 minutes consisted of a blank screen, and that’s how long AMC Theaters trailers are. After that long, stressful 20 minutes, we finally got to see Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum both being tied up, only to find out it’s all part of an unfinished story the former is writing for a franchise, while the latter is the cover model.
Next, we start laughing at the stupid funny and sometimes predictable antics. And as we reach a little over and hour, the screen goes blank again for a few more minutes. A woman in the audience said: “I’m getting a refund for this,” while the other said: “I’m not sitting through this again. The movie did not start over, and we got to finish and enjoy it. I’m not writing a complaint to the company and the name of the location shall remain anonymous. You’re welcome.
Using a “Romancing the Stone” formula, Bullock and Tatum have a nearly similar comic connection as she did with Ryan Reynolds in “The Proposal.” The type of chemistry, where her man is much younger than her. She’s in her mid50s, and yet, she still looks great and still has her womanhood and versatility. And Tatum is in his 40s, and he still delivers with his manliness and comic appeal.
As “The Lost City” begins, Bullock’s author character Loretta Sage is running out of steam, after the death of her archeologist husband, and is about to call it quits with her adventure novel series, in which she and Tatum’s cover model character Alan are both the adventurers.
Then comes, Daniel Radcliffe as the evil billionaire Abigail Fairbanks (he claims the name Abigail is unisex), who recruits Loretta to help him find the Lost City of D, which is a city in her book. It’s real, and he is willing to kidnap her to find it. Alan, her publicist Beth (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), and Instagram assistant Pratt (Patti Harrison) are able to track her down, and enlist the hero Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt) to rescue her.
The rest of the film becomes a real life adventure story for both Loretta and Alan as the rescue plan doesn’t go perfectly well, and plans change. The chemistry between them works much better than how Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn handled their dangerous situations in “Snatched.” And Pitt, Radcliffe, and Randolph also share some levity with style. Yes, the story is not original and there are some predictable elements, but it works as a goofy adventure comedy with some attractive leads.
“The Lost City” is much better than the trailers made it appear. I was expecting it to be a lousy comedy, but this one turns out to be smarter than that. It actually knows how to be funny without trying so hard, it knows how to be dangerous without being so reckless, and when it has to be reckless, that’s when it’s funny.
Every once in a while, unoriginal movies underwhelm movie-goers, because they deserve something, oh, I don’t know, original. But if they decide to give unoriginal movies a wacky sense of humor, and this film is rated PG-13, you can, at least, take a break from your journey, and enjoy an adventure comedy like this. Bullock and Tatum are the ones who carry it, and they both do a good job together. And I promise you: it’s nothing like how she stalked Bradley Cooper in “All About Steve.” Not even remotely close.
In Theaters This Friday
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