Lonely Planet
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): October 11, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
8
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Vanity FairRichard LawsonOct 10, 2024
Fantasies like this can satisfy even in creaky packaging. All it takes, really, is some nice scenery and a pair of actors who can sell their chemistry. Lonely Planet checks those boxes, even if it makes one yearn for a more elegant vehicle for Dern—one in which her romantic adventure might prove genuinely inspiring. Read full review
70
ColliderTania HussainOct 10, 2024
As a story that’s more about finding oneself than finding love, Lonely Planet is a thoughtful and heartfelt meditation on how identity and love are intertwined, and how the most unlikely connection with others can serve as a mirror to the best parts of ourselves we’ve been avoiding. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubCaroline SiedeOct 10, 2024
The fact that the movie has zero stakes and unfolds in one low emotional key is part of its appeal—the sort of subgenre known as “cozy romance” in publishing parlance. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 10, 2024
From the opening scene right until the wholly expected finale, Lonely Planet is pure romantic-drama escapism. It’s so thin that if the original material had been in book form, that book would have been a pamphlet. Read full review
60
VarietyCourtney HowardOct 10, 2024
While many of the picture’s finer details are in desperate need of ironing out, the wrinkles within these two characters’ lives are compelling enough. Read full review
60
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiOct 10, 2024
The film is melancholic and contemplative in a way that isn’t always the case with romance genre films. Read full review
60
The GuardianAdrian HortonOct 10, 2024
It’s better, more grounded and self-aware than expected, enough to overcome the cliches and occasionally clunky dialogue. It’s a mostly enjoyable addition to the welcome sub-genre about 40-plus, desiring women as considered, desirable subjects. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandOct 10, 2024
While Grant’s film nails certain elements necessary to the genre (like casting a pair of likable, capable stars who generate some real heat), the film is also prone to falling into just as many bad habits and limp tropes synonymous with big screen romance. Read full review
52
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiOct 10, 2024
The story isn’t so hot. At least the leads are. That’s not enough to make Lonely Planet a good film, but it might be enough to get through all 94 minutes without clicking on something else instead. Maybe Read full review
50
Washington PostJen YamatoOct 11, 2024
This lethargic romantic drama forces chemistry where there is none and, worse, sells out its aspirationally cool, intelligent female protagonist with an endgame that she — and the luminous Dern — hardly deserves. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla MeyerOct 11, 2024
Laura Dern is not a wizard. She cannot make the dumb and formulaic elements of her romance/travelogue movie “Lonely Planet” disappear. But Dern brings such authenticity to Katherine, her confident, matter-of-fact successful author character, that her performance often outweighs this Netflix movie’s flaws. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterAngie HanOct 10, 2024
Neither dull enough to be painful nor fun enough to be engaging, it’s simply too bland to make much of an impression at all. Read full review
38
ObserverEmily ZemlerOct 15, 2024
Katherine is searching for inspiration during her time in Morocco and, meanwhile, Dern should search for a better project. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloOct 11, 2024
So, if the couple at the center of this romantic comedy lacks chemistry, can you at least enjoy the scenery or the retreat’s resort? Unfortunately, this is not “White Lotus.” Read full review
30
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonOct 10, 2024
For this to work, the relationship needs a certain element of inevitability and comfort. Theirs is stilted. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 15, 2024
I swear I never thought I’d see Oscar winner Laura Dern in a movie as empty and pointless as Lonely Planet. Read full review
20
The TelegraphEd PowerOct 10, 2024
Halloween is fast approaching and Netflix has very generously stitched together a chilling Frankenstein’s monster of a rom-com sure to keep audiences awake all night in a cold sweat. Read full review
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