A streaming movie, actors and a director I’ve never heard of, plus a genre that typically isn’t my speed. This combination would usually add up to something I wouldn’t be a fan of, but I went in with an open mind and left pleasantly surprised.

The Map That Leads to You is an adaptation of the book with the same name. Following Heather (Madelyn Cline) on a European vacation with her friends, that eventually turns into a pretty heavy romantic drama. I knew nothing about this story going in, so for it to start off as a vacation movie was actually quite a delight. I just got back from a Eurotrip myself and I don’t want to say it affected my admiration for the setting, but it definitely helped. The views are gorgeous in this movie, and I’m not just talking about the scenery. The first act of this is a lot of fun, watching our characters trek across a gorgeous continent and search for something more than they planned for.

Now, I have no idea who KJ Apa (playing Jack, the love interest) was going into this, but he was a hunk of an actor so I understand what all the hoopla is about now. His character’s ambition for different was relatable and really spoke to something more than what a typical romcom guy was going for. Jack and Heather’s newly developed relationship felt natural to me but understandably unnatural to the world as a whole. The chemistry wasn’t forced and somehow I wasn’t grossed out by their love-dovey romance. It was taken a lot more seriously than I was expecting, with Madelyn Cline bringing a responsible energy to her role. Cline has the path in front of her to become a star in the Rom-Com world, or even just the Rom.

This movie is humorous to a fault. I laughed 50% more than I have at most other comedy films this year and even quite liked the range of most involved on screen. While a lot of the actors’ on screen chemistry is what made me laugh, some of the jokes and written situations were a little too strange. Some scenes felt very out of place which I kind of understood when it’s already too short of a short movie. The acting is way above par and I cannot believe how adult this felt, it pushed that PG-13 rating to the limit and surprised me a lot for a rom-com streaming film. It becomes a lot more serious with its drama towards the end, which worked and didn’t work. I know it’s based on a book but there’s some pivotal situations that I wished would have been handled differently to offset the confusing romantic stakes.

A Gen Z, type A vs type B, romantic dramedy movie that has a lot of heart. The direction of Lasse Hallstrom shouldn’t have shocked me as much as it did, but he made a solid film for the new generations with some young stars.

6.9/10