Summary
This is the typical rom-com we’ve all come to expect, and it is wildly predictable.
This review of the Netflix film Resort to Love contains no spoilers – the romantic comedy was released on the streaming service on July 29, 2021.
Resort to Love follows a heartbroken woman named Erica, coupled with a career meltdown, taking a gig in an exotic island resort where she happens to bump into her ex-fiance Jason, who happens to be getting married. Oh, and because she’s taken the gig, she has to sing at his wedding.
The premise reeks of disaster, and it certainly is. This is the kind of romantic comedy where you squint the eyes, waiting for a truth bomb to wreck the characters’ hopes and dreams. Resort to Love beckons Erica to a story of “what if?” and throws her on a rollercoaster of emotions — this romantic comedy is one hell of a ride to finding closure.
But underneath the salivating premise is opportunity. The Netflix film feels like a holiday. We’ve seen many films like this; exotic location, beautiful sun-kissed skin, a dreamy beach, and the heatwave atmosphere of a cocktail club island. It’s hard not to roll your eyes when even the title of the film mocks this recycled concept, Resort to Love. All this film wants us to do is to pack our bags and whisk ourselves on holiday and muster up an island romance that is idealistic and bewilders the hopeless romantics.
The film is not bad, but it’s hardly a narrative of logic. Erica finds herself heartbroken and pining for her ex-fiance while flirting with the idea of loving it up with the brother while also befriending the bride-to-be; it’s a story of potential mishaps and clumsiness. This is the typical rom-com we’ve all come to expect, and it is wildly predictable.
The cast act well, but the script does not expect any breathtaking performances; it expects each character to meander through the narrative and bump into whatever is happening next. There is no sense of tension building or a dreaded inevitability…it’s just…nice. But a story that involves exes is supposed to have that dreaded feeling, and this film provides zero gloom to undertone the holiday feeling.
Talking of tension, Resort to Love sells the potential of Erica finding romance with Jason’s brother Caleb, but rather than highlighting chemistry, all the man has to do is take his top off. Such was the lack of imagination of the script when the writers decided a Love Island only approach will do to sell a romance. But this is a rom-com, after all. It’s not surprising. There’s always an audience for a story like this.
What did you think of Netflix film Resort to Love? Comment below.
