The enduring power of Sandra Bullock as a rom-com heroine is one of the greatest wonders of the world. In her latest action-comedy “The Lost City,” opposite Channing Tatum, she’s just as fresh, funny and beguiling as she was 28 years ago, in her breakout role opposite Keanu Reeves in “Speed.” The characters in “The Lost City” are searching for treasure in a remote tropical jungle, but the real marvel is in front of them all along, in the form of our beloved Sandra B.
The script, by Seth Gordon, Oren Uziel, Dana Fox and co-directors Aaron and Adam Nee, is uniquely suited to Bullock’s gifts for rat-a-tat dialogue and physical comedy. It’s a treat to watch her slip into the comfort of this comedic zone, which fits her as well as the pink sequined jumpsuit in which she spends the majority of the movie, and it’s especially welcome after her last two starring roles, the dour “The Unforgivable,” and the apocalyptic horror film “Bird Box.”
Bullock stars as a romance novelist, Loretta Sage, who has channeled the heartbreaking loss of her archaeologist husband into fodder for her historically informed smut (which is, as is mentioned, the highest revenue-generating literary genre, and nothing to scoff at). But Loretta’s reclusive life has stopped generating material to mine for her work, and she struggles with writer’s block, barely finishing her last book, “The Lost City of D” (a sassy double entendre for the journey she’ll go on).
