Not to be confused with the popular travel site and book series: Susannah Grant's “Lonely Planet” is only marginally about the travel destination and more about the people who find themselves at a crossroads in an unnamed part of Morocco. At a loosely structured retreat, established writer Katherine (Laura Dern) tries to revive her literary spark after unsuccessful attempts. She puts off the consequences of her failed long-term relationship in the hope of finally making progress with her book. Meanwhile, the retreat also attracts a rising star of the lighting scene: Lily Kemp (Diana Silvers), who brings her non-author boyfriend Owen (Liam Hemsworth) to the meeting. He watches as she comes alive in the company of other writers, basking in the glow of their compliments and immediately forgetting that he is there for her. Instead of waiting until he feels included, he begins to set out to find companionship with Katherine and perhaps more.

Grant's follow-up to her feature debut, Catch and Release, is disappointing in many ways. The film's central romance is barely noticed on screen. Grant's script gives Dern little to do other than play standard rom-com beats, and even then she only fulfills them half-heartedly, making it seem like her character isn't really into this guy. She can and has done better in other roles; Even supporting scenes like her brief appearance in Marriage Story prove that she has enough charisma to steal any scene if she's good enough. In comparison, Hemsworth is so pathetically uncharismatic next to Dern; I couldn't see the appeal of why her character would be interested in a moody financial guy. A chiseled jaw is not a personality. Worse, Owen's ego gets in the way of tender moments, like when he leaves her at the resort, she jokingly calls him “kid,” or when he sees her at a bar. I couldn't tell from his stony expression whether he was interested in her. Plus, the subplot where Owen struggles to make a deal for his hedge fund feels as thin as a linen shirt.

So if there's no chemistry between the couple at the center of this romantic comedy, can you at least enjoy the scenery or resort of the retreat? Unfortunately, this is not “The White Lotus.” You can only enjoy the view through fleeting glances. In the film, Morocco is a setting that could easily have been swapped for any other TikTok destination of the day. I'm not sure if it was cinematographer Ben Smithard's vision to get blurry or blurry shots, but it was noticeable enough to distract the viewer. The story's location, Chefchaouen, is barely mentioned in passing and the beautiful blue buildings are only briefly admired before moving on. The resort's presenter, Fatema Benzakour (Rachida Brakni), makes little impression on screen, which can be said of most of the other Moroccan characters. Lily's new Libyan writing friend Rafih (Younès Boucif) almost disappears as soon as his role in the story becomes more important. In fact, almost all the other characters are reduced to a writer's mania, most of them being funny, mean and promiscuous.

“Lonely Planet,” written and directed by Susannah Grant, didn’t alleviate the feeling of loneliness — it might have in fact increased it. After all the Hollywood movies where older men date younger women, we can't enjoy watching an older woman develop feelings for a younger man without worrying about his fragile ego or watching her pursue him , because he doesn't chase her. The film has some ingredients for its retro romantic comedy vibe, but it lacks the imagination that makes the viewer believe in an unlikely connection: the magnetic attention when eyes meet and can't look away from each other, or the longing glances and wandering thoughts about what you would do if you could just get closer to that person.

“Careful, I might fall in love with a child like you,” Katherine purrs before accidentally hurting her lover's feelings, but he needn't worry. There isn't enough chemistry to make the screen burn or even warm it up.