Resort to Love (2021)

Director: Steven K. Tsuchida
Writer(s): Tabi McCartney and Dana Schmalenberg
Starring: Christina Milian, Jay Pharaoh, Sinqua Walls and Tymberlee Hill

Wow, I must say that, without a single shred of a doubt, this year has been the best year we’ve ever experienced for “corn-coms'' (there has to be a term I can coin for these B-grade wannabe romance flicks). Not all the movies we’ve seen have been produced this year, but all the ones we’ve seen have had some sort of redeeming quality, and none have outright pissed us off. I’m sure I’ve just jinxed it but hey, if that’s the case, it was a good ride while it lasted.

And, surprisingly, the streak continues with Resort to Love, another Netflix-produced “rom-corn” (See? “r” and “m” together look like an “n”! No takers on that….?) starring Christina Milian, the disgraced ex-singer turned Netflix movie star. Seriously, she must get paid a fortune, because she seems to be in at least three of these every single year; no amount of money would be worth that to anyone who has a shred of dignity left in their careers.

But you know what? For all the pointed criticism I just leveled her way, she’s almost a natural when it comes to starring in these roles. I mean, I guess it could be argued that she’s basically a spin-off of the same character every single time, and standard “acting” doesn’t really apply to this throwaway romantic drivel, but she has a knack for just being inherently likable. And she isn’t afraid to make fun of herself, or to look stupid, the way some former “stars” would, which only adds to her appeal.

In this one, she plays Erica Wilson, a singer whose career is about to take off thanks to her being featured in an album from Che (pronounced “Chee” and who seems to be a spoof of Kanye West), the hottest hip-hop artist in the world. She attends a listening party of the album’s release with her best friend Amber (Tymberlee Hill, who played Phe Phe Reed in the often hilarious reality show parody “The Hotwives of Orlando”). But rather than boosting her career, Che promptly ends it, when he destroys the computer which houses the only copies of the tracks, thanks to a radio DJ leaking a song early. 

Her career isn’t the only thing that’s in dire straits: Her fiance, Jay, recently up and left her a month before their planned wedding, completely out of the blue, a traumatic event she is still reeling from. 

Depressed, Amber suggests she take a job as a resort singer on a beautiful island. Initially, Erica sees it as a downgrade, a job that’s beneath her. But eventually, she realizes she has no other offers on the table, and reluctantly accepts. 

There, she meets the perfect Caleb, who rescues her and another man from drowning after Erica attempted to rescue the man herself. Long story short, in one of those coincidences that only happens in this mindless drivel, he turns out to be Jay’s brother, and is only on the island (that’s thousands of miles away from their home in New York) for Jay’s wedding! That’s right…Erica is going to have to sing for her ex-fiance and his beau, an idea that doesn’t sit too well with her. 

Unfortunately for her, Jay’s fiance takes an immediate liking to Erica, which is obviously due to the fact that neither of them have revealed the true nature of their past relationship. Being this close to the woman who’s going to marry her ex doesn’t really help matters for her, but of course because this is a rom-com, all of her pain is played for laughs. Cue a series of hilarious misunderstandings and awkward situations!

Once again, this is another movie this year that doesn’t have a villain, and is all the merrier for it. All of the characters are likable, even Jay somehow, who comes off as more of an immature man-child afraid of commitment than a douchebag who intentionally caused her emotional harm. His jealousy over his brother’s growing closeness with his ex forms much of the movie’s backbone; is he truly in love with his fiance, or does he want to get back with the woman whose heart he destroyed?

But this is, first and foremost, a comedy. Amber provides some good quality laughs as Erica’s best friend, and the movie also gets some comedic mileage out of Claire, Erica’s French-accented boss, who is a stickler for the rules. Granted, much of the humor derives from her ridiculous accent and overacting, but it’s still funny. It’s just a shame that, once the story starts kicking in, both of their characters are relegated to just a couple of minor appearances that don’t pack the same effectiveness of their earlier scenes.

In the end, this is yet another showcase for Christina Milian to sing a few songs in between trying to find the man of her dreams. It’s almost becoming a subgenre unto itself, considering she seems to be in a growing number of them every year, and Resort to Love isn’t going to earn her any new fans. But for those that like these kind of cheesy romance movies, there’s enough here that it shouldn’t lose her any fans, either.

ENTERTAINMENT RATING: 6/10

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