The first thing you learn about Amanda (Rachel Leigh Cook) in The Tourist’s Guide of Love is that she works for a luxury agency called Tourista World Travel. But in this Netflix movie of hers, no one commented on the fact that “tourista” is slang for vacation diarrhea. That baffling choice and its complete lack of consequences is the only surprise of Steven Tsuchida’s film, a rom-com that so closely meets every cliché of the genre, and could have been conceived by ChatGPT. .
Amanda was sent to Vietnam to research a small tour company that Tourista is looking to acquire to expand its market in the region. She recently got dumped by her boring accountant boyfriend, John (Ben Feldman). Despite being a well-prepared traveler, going undercover as a regular tourist, she is immediately drawn to the floppy-haired guide, Shin (Scott Her Lee). He’s a dreamboat with both abs and sensitivity, able to show Amanda not just the beauty of his country, but how she enjoys life.
Shin eventually takes off his shirt on the beach and emerges from the water in glorious slow motion. The village elders are cute as buttons and smart as Yoda. Street food is appetizing. Exhausted Westerners ditch their phones and rediscover themselves while immersing themselves in a rural experience only sweetened by the knowledge that it’s only temporary. offers the only fizz in this flat formula.
Tourist guide to love
Unrated. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. watch on netflix.
