Film
Falling Inn Love
- Romantic comedy
- Light-hearted
A charming rom-com about a burned-out San Francisco tech executive who wins a ramshackle New Zealand inn and finds herself rebuilding both the property and her life alongside a charismatic local contractor. It's a feel-good escape fantasy with genuine warmth, set against stunning landscape porn, designed for anyone craving comfort viewing that doesn't insult your intelligence.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you want a sunny, easygoing romantic comedy where the pleasure lies in New Zealand scenery, handy-work banter and a flirtation that unfolds at a leisurely pace.
Skip it if the romance is predictable from the first scene, and if you need sharp jokes or real surprises, this gentle comedy will feel thin.
What it asks of you: Ninety-eight minutes of undemanding attention, no homework, and patience for a cosy, pretty story that rarely raises its voice or its stakes.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
You've Got Mail1998
Two people who can't stand each other in person fall for each other online, then must reckon with reality. It's the blueprint for this kind of romantic friction, executed with impeccable charm and a script that crackles with wit.
But It's deliberately frothy and the central conflict feels slight by modern standards. If you need your romance to grapple with real stakes, this will feel like cotton candy.

Under the Tuscan Sun2003
A recently divorced woman impulsively buys a villa in Italy and restores it while discovering herself. Same DNA as Falling Inn Love: beautiful locations, healing through renovation, romantic complications, and a woman learning to say yes to life again.
But It's aggressively earnest about self-discovery and the plotting can feel contrived. Some find it maudlin rather than moving.

The Proposal2009
Margaret and Andrew have zero chemistry until they're forced into close quarters, then realize they've been perfect for each other all along. Witty, fast-paced, with genuine spark between leads and a supporting cast that elevates every scene.
But The premise (boss forces employee into fake engagement) involves a power dynamic that hasn't aged brilliantly. Some of the comedy lands on mockery rather than cleverness.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Falling Inn Love
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Jane the Virgin2014
Both pit a woman against circumstance and require her to rebuild her life in a place she didn't expect to stay. Both prove that romantic comedy doesn't have to be stupid, just generous.
A young Latina woman plans her life around celibacy until artificial insemination goes wrong. It's a romantic comedy that's actually interested in character and consequence, with genuine heart, humor, and a community of people who love each other. Five seasons of this.
But It's a telenovela—heightened, operatic, unapologetically melodramatic. If you need your comedy understated, this will feel like too much.

More like this (8)
Holidate2020
Two people use each other as plus-ones to family gatherings and predictably fall in love. It's silly and earnest at once, with surprisingly good chemistry and the kind of uncomplicated joy that makes comfort viewing work.
But The script is thin and the plot points arrive exactly when you expect them. If you need novelty or surprise, look elsewhere.

Love Hard2021
Woman travels across the country to surprise an online romantic interest and discovers he's not who he claimed. It's a genuine premise twist that resets the whole movie, executed with real tenderness underneath the comedy.
But The tonal shifts from comedy to pathos can feel jarring. The central character's choices don't always make practical sense.

Set It Up2018
Two assistants scheme to get their demanding bosses together, then realize they're actually perfect for each other. It moves at a clip, has chemistry for days, and finds genuine laughs in workplace frustration and romantic stupidity.
But It's extremely plot-dependent and the mechanics sometimes creak. If you're paying close attention to why characters don't just talk to each other, you'll get irritated.

Notting Hill1999
A bookshop owner in London falls for a massive movie star and must navigate the surreality of it all. It's romantic comedy at its smartest, funny without being cruel, and anchored by genuine human tenderness between the leads.
But The fantasy is transparent—it's really about a regular guy getting the girl of his dreams with minimal effort on his part. The gender dynamics feel dated.

Maid in Manhattan2002
A hotel maid pretends to be a guest to get ahead and catches the attention of a charming senator. It's a Cinderella story with real warmth, and the two leads generate enough charm to make the absurd premise feel possible.
But The class commentary is glossed over, the stakes feel plastic, and you've seen this exact plot dozens of times with better execution.

The Kissing Booth2018
Small-town girl navigates romance across a friendship line at a beach-town kissing booth. It's aggressively sincere, unironically committed to its melodrama, and the cast clearly had genuine fun making it.
But The protagonist makes consistently baffling decisions, the love triangle drags, and if you're looking for sophistication, you won't find it here.

The Great British Bake Off2010
Falling Inn Love is about restoring a place with help from someone you underestimated. GBBO is about strangers creating something beautiful together under pressure, discovering they actually like each other. Both are about work becoming joy through good company.
Complete strangers compete in baking while being aggressively kind to each other. No drama, no elimination cruelty—just competence, vulnerability, and people cheering each other on. Watching it feels like being hugged. Go with the Paul Hollywood era.
But If you need plot, conflict, or stakes, this has none. It's pure comfort with no narrative arc. Some find it dull; others find it healing.

Paddington 22017
Both films believe that kindness works, that small communities matter, that beautiful settings reward attention, and that fixing broken things (property, city, human hearts) is genuine work that matters. Neither feels cynical about any of this.
A polite Peruvian bear in London befriends his neighbors through marmalade sandwiches and kindness. It's crafted with genuine love, visually sumptuous, funny for children and adults separately, and proves that earnestness and quality craft can coexist. The plot is a minor miracle.
But It's explicitly a children's film and if you can't access that register, it will feel saccharine. Some adults find it aggressively wholesome.

People
Cast
Christina MilianGabriela Diaz
Adam DemosJake Taylor
Anna JullienneCharlotte
Claire ChithamShelley
Blair StrangManaaki
Jonathan MartinPeter- William WalkerNorman
Daniel WattersonChad
Simone WalkerSage
Arlo MacDiarmidDr. Corey
Lucy WigmoreOlive Flyger
Directing
- Roger KumbleDirector
Writing
- Elizabeth HackettScreenplay
- Hilary GalanoyScreenplay
Production
- Gemma BrownCasting
- Kirsty McGregorCasting
- Lisa YstromCasting
- Michael TestaCasting
- Axel PatonCo-Producer
- Fernando SzewExecutive Producer
- Hannah PillemerExecutive Producer
- Larry GrimaldiExecutive Producer
- Melanie TurnerProducer
- Robyn SnyderProducer
Recommended by
Marrying Mr. Darcy, Shark Week, Love, Guaranteed, Love at First Sight, Crown for Christmas