What’s this, (eat) pray (love) tell?
A made-for-Netflix film that goes something like this: after an unexpected break-up, a travel executive accepts an assignment to go undercover and learn about the tourist industry in Vietnam. Along the way she finds romance with her Vietnamese tour guide. Then they decide to hijack the tour bus in order to explore life and love off the beaten path. That’s just what they do. And you watch them doing it.
What’s the genre?
Um, rom-com I’d say, wouldn’t you?
Who’s in it?
Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That) and newcomer Scott Ly.
Who directs?
Steven K. Tsuchida, director of the short film A Ninja Pays Half My Rent (2003) and one episode of The Healing Powers of Dude (2020)
Is there a trailer?
You betcha.
Do the critics like it?
So far, there are only six critics reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 67% approval rating. Here’s a positive one:
A Tourist’s Guide to Love is a road map for how to love adventure abroad, with dashes of Vietnamese trivia and spiritual facts along the way.
Samantha Bergeson on IndieWire
And here’s a less positive one:
… it might as well have been devised by ChatGPT.
Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times
Any juicy trivia?
According to IMDB, this is the first Netflix original film shot in Vietnam.
What? That’s it?
Yeah, sorry …
Do say
Clichés aside, I thought this was a great way to dissociate from real life with my feet up on the couch, a bag of chips, a glass of wine and my battered old copy of Lonely Planet: Vietnam.
Don’t say
Give me a minute while I check LinkedIn to see if there are any jobs where they’ll pay me to go undercover and learn about the tourist industry in Vietnam.
When and where can I watch?
A Tourist’s Guide To Love premieres on Netflix on 27 April.
