REVIEW: A Tourist’s Guide to Love Will Leave You With Vacation Envy
Rachael Leigh Cook is back in an all new romantic comedy for Netflix, A Tourist’s Guide to Love. Directed by Steven Tsuchida, the movie follows Amanda (Cook), a travel executive who is sent to Vietnam to shop a family-owned tour company. Her job is to see if this little tour company should be expanding its choice of excursions to other parts of the country. Facing an uncertain future back in the United States, Amanda heads to Vietnam with one goal in mind, work. However when free-spirited tour guide Sinh (Scott Ly) comes into the picture, Amanda will be exposed to things she never dreamed up and begin to discover who she really is.
The first thing to note about this movie is how big of character Vietnam plays in it. The country could be considered the third lead character, working alongside Cook and Ly. As the movie travels from place to place, Tsuchida does a wonderful job immersing the audience into the Vietnamese culture. As Amanda explores the cities and villages, so does the audience. Every location used is gorgeous and gives the audience a better sense of Vietnam, its people, and culture. At the end of the day, the film will leave you with vacation envy, searching for how you can book your next vacation there.
The second thing to note about this movie is Cook needs to be in more rom-coms. As someone who loved her in, She’s All That, I’ve been waiting for her to make her return to the genre, and she finally has. Cook’s Amanda feels like a character we all can relate to. Whether it be her romance problems or her internal conflicts, there is something relatable that audiences can grasp on to, and this is due in part to Cook’s performance. She brings a breath of fresh air to a character, that could very well be unlikeable in the wrong actor’s hands. But Cook, does an amazing job keeping Amanda centered. Cook is joined in the movie by Ly, and he was a great choice to perform opposite of her. Ly plays Sinh with ease and a bit of fun. You can tell these two really enjoyed playing opposite one another.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love isn’t the best rom-com out there, but it does exactly what you want a rom-com to do. Is it cheesy, yes. Does it make you feel good at the end, yes. Do the leads have chemistry, yes. It is a great movie to put on with a group of friends or if you just want a vacation from life. It will leave you feeling good and hoping that Cook will appear in more rom-coms in the very near future.
Grade: B