I Think I’m Fall-Inn For Ya
Falling Inn Love (2019) 🥐🥐🥐🥐🥐 made the list!
Inn-to It
The list of five croissant worthy Rom-Coms that feel more like a vacation than patriarchal punishment is short. Falling Inn Love, though not without it’s flaws, quickly won me over with it’s New Zeland charm.
I love the journey for our lead, Gabriela. She makes decisions every step of the way — even if one is a drunken depressed one, she doesn’t need rescuing when she loses her job and boyfriend, but she accepts help when an unexpected gigantic remodel is needed for the Inn she won in a contest.
Being someone with a day job in sustainability, I was also completely swooning over her solar panel sun flower–that would probably only power a toaster (but supposedly powered the whole Inn). I didn’t even care. I just felt seen by her gray water system and native plants.
There are a few tropes, like inappropriate footwear and falling (literally) into a man’s arms, and of course, he’s only single because his high school sweetheart died tragically. But the tender moments are actually quite believable. They generally say things in the moment instead of using omitted info as a plot point, and their climactic argument is earned. There are many a texting scenes in movies these days that don’t add to the plot, but when they each see the three dots of the other trying to apologize, then withdrawing, it was relatable. Jake, our other lead, also has to meet her halfway. She’s not gonna chase him down once she decides to say in town, and she makes the choice to stay for herself, not simply because of him.
Can I Say More?
The remodel plot is reminiscent of Under the Tuscan Sun and Money Pit (two of my classic favorites). Theres is quirky New Zealand lingo like “chili bin” (a cooler), a competing Inn owner who has her own growth journey, and sweet friendships with other local business owners. It’s a classic Rom-Com without the need for squirming and squinting from problematic dialogue and plots.
Not without flaws
The acting a bit uneven, it has some cheesy lines, and I take issue with one of the messages. The not all who offer to help you have bad motives feels like a pitch for supposed superiority small towns (as many Rom-Coms imply), or worse, saying she is unreasonable for not trusting strangers. (I would say she’s very reasonable for not accepting a ride from a stranger when in a new country, as well as considerate / not entitled for not assuming people will help this rando American for free.)
But these flaws easily fade into the background of this story where our lead, Gabriela, actually leads, and the adorable married gay characters are some of the first folks we meet in town and have more than two lines.
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