A Tourist’s Guide to Love Review: Netflix’s romantic comedy film stars Rachael Leigh Cook as Amanda, Scott Ly as Sinh, Ben Feldman as John along with Missi Pyle, Nondumiso Tembe, Andrew Barth Feldman and others. Directed by Steven K Tsuchida, the story is written by Eirene Tran Donohue. The cinematography is by Jon Kung.
The movie is produced by Head First Productions and Muse Entertainment. The runtime is of 96 minutes.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love Movie Review Contains No Spoilers
In Netflix’s A Tourist’s Guide to Love, Amanda works for a travel company that plans to expand its business in Vietnam. After her breakup with John, Amanda travels to Vietnam during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Celebration to find out about the tourist company her company is planning to buy. She meets tour guide Sinh, but hides her profession and real intention of taking the trip.
All Amanda wanted to do was understand the different places and the tourist business of Sinh’s uncle’s company before acquiring them. The trip also becomes an ointment to her recent breakup. But it turns out to be a life-changing experience when it changes her perception towards love and life. What will happen if Sinh discovers Amanda’s real intention of visiting Vietnam? You find out everything in the end.
The concept of a woman vacationing to a new city/foreign country (sometimes after a breakup) and finding love during the vacation is familiar. There are a lot of movies like this – The Holiday, Eat Pray Love, Jab Harry Met Sejal and many more. Yet, in the end, Netflix’s latest release gives you cute feels and smiles.
Amanda’s motive for the trip might be questionable, but her growing bond with Sinh is natural and adorable. While you adore them, you also wonder what will happen when he discovers the truth. Along with building their beautiful relationship, director Steven K Tsuchida takes you on a virtual tour of Vietnam. Jon Keng’s camera beautifully captures the country’s landscape, food, culture, people and the celebration of Tết Nguyên Đán qui.
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As the story approaches the end, the makers of A Tourist’s Guide to Love on Netflix drop another bomb. It only makes things more complicated. The trip/travel company secret and the twist in the last 30 minutes leave you curious about Amanda and Sinh’s fate.
Music plays a key role in making certain moments stand out or be memorable in such love stories. Sadly, that doesn’t happen here. The dialogues aren’t that poetic, which one usually expects in such movies. But I appreciate how the makers didn’t make native Vietnamese people speak in English all the time. However, due to ordinary dialogues and music, the onus of keeping you engrossed lies completely in the screenplay, the actors’ performances, chemistry and, of course, the beauty of Vietnam.
The cast of A Tourist’s Guide to Love consists of the gorgeously talented Rachael Leigh Cook and Scott Ly in the leading roles. Rachael has a penchant for playing such characters, as her filmography mostly consists of romantic comedies. The actor does a good job throughout. Scott Ly as Sinh gives a pleasing performance. As Amanda describes him, he’s sweet, funny, and handsome. The supporting cast plays their part well.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Netflix’s new romcom is a standard vacation love story with a usual happy ending. But despite being the same old story, it is quite endearing. If you crave a decent, feel-good, romantic movie with a mesmerising backdrop, this is the one!
The movie is now streaming on Netflix.
Have you watched the movie yet? Do let us know your thoughts on it in the comments section below.
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