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MOVIE:
Falling Inn Love
WHERE TO WATCH:
OUR RATING:
3/5 Stars
WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
After losing her job and her boyfriend, city girl Gabriela spontaneously enters a contest and wins a rustic New Zealand inn. Thousands of airline miles later, she discovers that The Bellbird Valley Farm boasts a crumbling facade, a goat house-mate, and a meddling neighbor who covets the space. Eager to renovate and sell the property fast, she partners with Jake Taylor, the Kiwi contractor who's amused by her city-girl culture shock. Now she has to make a decision to continue the life that she is building, or return to the life that she's left behind.
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Keen for a comfy night in, curled up on the couch with a glass of wine? Then Falling Inn Love is just the movie to stream on Netflix.
The streaming giant's latest rom-com offering stars Christina Milian as protagonist Gabriela and hunky Australian actor Adam Damos – who you may remember from the third and fourth seasons of Lifetime's UnREAL – as New Zealand contractor Jake and, of course, Milian's love interest.
Now, I'd be lying if I told you this film was totally original, completely unpredictable and well, award-winning material. What I did like about Falling Inn Love is that it is exactly what you expect it to be – a cheesy romance that will, for a brief moment, make you wish that junk mail competitions were real, moving to a different country was the answer to all your problems and all contractors were tall, blonde and spoke with a Kiwi accent.
While the film follows the traditional rom-com recipe, clichés and all, it further emphasises a rising trend that is fast becoming a popular ingredient in the dreamy genre - the healing (and romantic) potential of its protagonist's turn away from the constant rat race of professional life. The most recent film to illustrate this, other than Falling Inn Love is Netflix's Ali Wong-led rom-com Always Be My Maybe.
And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with casting frenetic professional toil as the villain, in reality, it may just be too much for today's overworked millennials to handle. That being said, Falling Inn Love is a refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle and will evoke a good night's sleep filled with fairy tale dreams in the very least.
Milian and Damos do their jobs well and, admittedly, the Kiwi accents and picturesque filming location more than makes up for what would have caused me to give this film a below-average rating. Filmed in a small town on New Zealand's North Island called Thames, Falling Inn Love showcases the country's gorgeous greenery, cosy B&B's and picture-perfect beaches.
Falling Inn Love is a cheesy but modern feel-good movie that will make you cringe a little, laugh a little, and most of all leave you longing for a well-deserved getaway.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
