Disclaimer: This article contains opinions expressed by Lonely Planet watchers on social media and an analysis of those reactions.
The Netflix film Lonely Planet has sparked much debate regarding the emerging trend of films that portray significant age-gap relationships. It is a romantic drama in which an older novelist and a younger guy meet on vacation in Morocco and then fall in love.
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They're played by Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth. While some viewers seem to appreciate the effort in trying to show beyond ordinary Hollywood bonding between two people, other viewers criticize the "unnatural" chemistry between leads.
Social media users on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) have plenty of opinions.
@ladidaix commented, "It’s giving mother son."
This is a reaction that mirrors what many viewers see between the leads: an uncomfortably awkward dynamic that has been compared to the concerns over the significant age difference between Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth.
@awaken_tom wondered, "Why is Netflix greenlighting so many Cougar films?"
They were suggesting the upward trend of these movies and where was the thinking in making them.
@iAmJ0HN3 simply stated, "Cougar movie print money."
They were deducing that even amidst all the controversy those movies are printing money.
@cerogasoline tweeted, "Hag maxxing has become the new trend."
This was a playful but sharp takedown of the default theme of films featuring older women and younger men, like Lonely Planet.
@TM41142 said, "She’s like 70."
They were joking around Laura Dern's age as part of the ongoing brouhaha regarding age-gap casting, though Laura Dern is far from 70, which drives home the discomfort with the casting choice.
@ohheyp quipped, "I thought she was playing his meemaw."
They were ironically surprised at the romantic matchup and confirmed the strangeness of the relationship situation.
The trend of age-gap romances like Lonely Planet
Indeed, in recent years, Hollywood has made an effort to cater to such relationships when it involves huge age differences between the characters. More often, though, the older female character is paired with a younger male character.
While these films try to shoot against the old stereotypes, the response is usually mixed. Movies like Lonely Planet form a trend where the "cougar" narrative has emerged as a favorite and thus is under discussion about its representation.
In turn, some viewers are empowered by this, as it provides roles for maturing actresses such as Laura Dern, though to others, these romantic plots might be far-fetched or uncomfortable. This brings us to Netflix which has greenlit several of these films, possibly because they are so controversial and interesting.
Why Lonely Planet fails to resonate with the audience
One of the biggest flaws in Lonely Planet, per Washinton Post, is the chemistry between the leads. Laura Dern, who plays Katherine, and Liam Hemsworth, who portrays Owen, never really stood a chance with the audience in this flick.
While Dern shines in the role of the aging, world-weary writer, Hemsworth's Owen strikes many as kind of generic and simply doesn't have the right chemistry for the love interest of his female counterpart in Lonely Planet.
Where, for example, subplot superficial conversations and awkward tension supplant an emotional arc to engage the viewer. At least one audience member commented that while the film offers a Moroccan background, it fails to tell a believable love story.
Next: Find out what the movie is all about
Well, Lonely Planet is now streaming on Netflix; in other words, that void-filling, sun-kissed romantic journey between its mismatched leads gets to happen here.
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