Film fans think they’ve spotted a bizarre trend in this year’s movies – and it all hinges around the newest Netflix flick out today.
The Netflix movie in question is called Lonely Planet, and it features a whirlwind romance between two people who meet in Morocco.
Sorry to break the news though, despite the name you won’t be seeing David Attenborough locking lips with anyone as that’s just a coincidence.
Instead, the core couple at the centre of the film are Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth.
The pair engage in a fiery relationship, despite her being over 20 years his senior. Here’s the trailer:
If you’re thinking: “Wait, haven’t I seen that film before this year?”
You have. Twice. Well, kind of.
Lonely Planet marks the third film this year alone to go with the idea of ‘Older Woman meets Hot Young stud – copious amounts of sex and love ensues’.
It follows on from The Idea of You with Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine (11 year age gap), and A Family Affair with Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron (21 year age gap).
Lonely Planet sees the trend continue upwards, with a 23 year age gap.
I for one can’t wait to see someone come up with a film called Golden Oldies starring Jane Fonda and Tom Holland in a whirlwind romance.
The pair share some steamy scenes in Lonely Planet (Anne Marie Fox/Netflix)
Vulture have also deemed 2024 the year of ‘MILF Cinema’.
The trend is one that fans have been picking up on, with one tweeting: “The idea of you, the image of you and now lonely planet. Older actresses in romance movies are up this year”.
Another noticed that A Family Affair was also on the same streamer and asked: “Why is Netflix greenlighting so many Cougar films??”
One fan posted on reddit about the film saying: “I feel like there’s been a huge influx of these types of movies lately. Several have dropped already and more seem to be coming out including this one”.
Laura Dern has also opened up about the sex scenes in the film – and was very complimentary of her co-star Luke Hemsworth.
Anne Hathaway’s The Idea of You came out earlier this year (Prime Video)
She told PEOPLE Magazine: “By the time we were doing those scenes, there was nothing we couldn’t talk about together and work out creatively, professionally, all of that.
“Incredible … that film and filmmaking have changed so that everyone is comfortable in their voice and can set boundaries comfortably without fear of losing a job or being unpopular.”
“We both, as young actors, have had a lot of other kinds of experiences on movies”.
She also said of Hemsworth: “[He is] literally the safest person I could ever talk through everything in my life with.”
Lonely Planet is on Netflix now.
