Resort to Love Synopsis: Erica, who ends up as the entertainment at her ex-fiancĂŠ’s wedding after reluctantly taking a gig at a luxurious island resort while in the wake of a music career meltdown.
Netflix rom-coms are very hit or miss (usually more miss these days), so I did not go into Resort to Love with very high expectations, especially as I did not like Falling Inn Love whatsoever. To my surprise, Resort to Love wasn’t terrible, and I did find myself enjoying parts of it. Christina Milian plays Erica, a singer whose big break is within reach as a famous rap artist is about to drop an album that she’s featured on. Instead, the musician destroys the album after a track is leaked, leaving Erica at square one.
Depressed, she starts lamenting about her ex-fiancĂŠ, who left her for a job in another state the year before. To help her out, Erica’s friend Amber gets Erica a gig singing at a luxurious resort. Needing a change of scenery and money, Erica agrees. It’s certainly not easy, especially when she realizes she’ll have to sing at the resort weddings as well. You know what’s coming next… her ex-fiancĂŠ, Jason, and his new bride-to-be, Beverly, arrive at the resort to be married. It doesn’t help that Erica had a potentially romantic moment with Jason’s brother, Caleb, whom she had never met before and had no idea he was related to her ex.
I have seen some people comparing this movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Honestly, the only thing I found similar was the premise: a protagonist running into their ex-lover at a luxury resort. If you’ve seen both of these movies, you know that’s where the similarities end. Christina Milian is affable enough as Erica, and it seems as though these movies are tailored to her level of talent.
Jay Pharoah attempts some dramatic range as Jason, the ex who has second thoughts about getting married after seeing Erica again. But Sinqua Walls is the one with the charisma, and every scene he’s involved in is made better because of it. I also enjoyed Christiani Pitts as Beverly and Karen Obilom as her sister, Janelle.
They befriend Erica (not knowing she was once engaged to Jason), and it’s always a nice change of pace in a romantic comedy when the Other Woman isn’t a one-dimensional shrew. Beverly is a caring, lovely woman, and Jason probably doesn’t deserve her.
Resort to Love wants to keep you guessing as to who Erica will eventually end up with, which I think is a detriment to Jason’s character, considering how perfect Beverly seems to be for him. I’m not entirely sure that Erica and Caleb connected enough for their own potential HEA to be believable. This movie felt more like one of self-discovery than finding love, and the romance was simply a subplot, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
As with many Netflix rom-coms, the direction of Resort to Love was as basic as the script, but I have to admit that I did laugh quite a few times, and there was minimal eye-rolling. It’s not a movie I’ll watch again, nor will I want to hear ‘No One’ by Alicia Keys again anytime soon (it makes sense that she’s a producer on this film), but Resort to Love was enjoyable enough for what it was.
Watched: 08/11/2021
Notable Song: No One by Alicia Keys
